IvIBRARY 

OF  THK 

University  of  California, 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  18^4. 
Accessions  No.^^Q  ^^ .      Class  No. 


THE 


COMING  CRISIS  OF  THE  WORLD. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/comingcrisisofwoOOreadrich 


THE 


COMim  CRISIS  OF  THE  ¥ORLD 

OB, 

THE  GREAT  BATTLE  AND  THE  GOLDEN  AGE. 

THE  SIGNS  OP  THE  TIMES  INDICATING  THE  APPROACH 
OF  THE  GREAT  CRISIS,  AND 

THE  DUTY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


EEV.  HOLLIS  READ, 

AUTHOR  OP  "god  IX  BISTORT,"   "INDIA  AND  ITS  PEOPLE,"  "  PALACE  OP  THE  GREAT 
KING,"  ETC. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE, 

BY  REV.  S.  H.  TTNG,  D.D. 


COLUMBUS: 

FOLLETT,   FOSTER   AND   COMPANY, 

MDCCCLXI. 


BT&7S 


f*JOh% 


PREFACE 


We  arrogate  nothing  when  we  say  we  are  living  in  a  very  re- 
markable period  of  the  world's  history.  A  very  general  impres- 
sion obtains  in  all  reflecting  minds,  that  we  are  on  the  confines  of 
another  of  those  signal  crises  which  mark  the  history  of  our  race, 
and  indicate  human  advancement.  The  signs  of  the  times  are 
strangely  significant.  Events  in  Italy,  in  Turkey,  in  China,  and 
especially  at  the  present  moment  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
all  indicate  the  coming  of  a  crisis  of  surpassing  interest.  In  the 
Papal,  in  the  Pagan,  and  in  the  Mohammedan  world,  we  see  signs 
of  coming  catastrophes  which  shall  shake  terribly  the  earth,  and 
which  presage  the  no  distant  approach  of  the  great  Battle  and 
the  golden  age  of  the  Church. 

The  rebellion  in  China  is  becoming  more  and  more  formidable. 
At  the  moment  when  England  and  France  from  without  are 
bringing  their  thunders  to  bear  on  that  mighty  Empire,  fearful 
rumblings  of  the  earthquake  are  heard  within.  The  "  Rebels  " 
are  making  fearful  strides,  and  creating  ominous  forebodings  in 
the  minds  of  the  Celestials  that  the  days  of  the  Imperial  Dy- 
nasty draw  near  their  end.  In  the  downfall  of  this  Dynasty  we 
behold  the  dying  struggle  of  the  last  great  Pagan  power. 

(V) 


VI  PREFACE. 

In  like  manner  the  waning  of  the  Crescent — the  decay  and 
the  dying  out  of  the  Moslem  power  in  Turkey,  is  a  sure  presage 
of  the  no  distant  extinction  of  the  dominion  of  Mecca.  And  the 
stirring  events  of  the  present  moment  in  Italy,  and  the  civil  com- 
motions— the  volcanoes  over  which  every  Catholic  nation  in 
Europe  trembles,  give  no  doubtful  tokens  that  great  Babylon  is 
toppling  to  her  fall.  But  in  the  yet  more  stirring  and  startling 
events  now  transpiring  in  our  land,  we  seem  at  the  present  moment 
to  lose  sight  of  the  commotions  that  agitate  the  other  nations  of 
the  earth,  and  the  mighty  elements  that  are,  whether  above  or 
beneath  the  surface,  there  working  out  the  final  destiny  of  man. 
It  is  now  in  America  that  the  great  battle  rages.  It  is  the  battle 
for  human  freedom — for  self-government — for  universal  emanci- 
pation. The  Enemy  to  be  assailed  and  vanquished  is  generally 
the  same.  In  India  and  China  it  finds  its  embodiment  in  a  Pagan 
Priestcraft.  In  Europe  it  is  despotism  of  Rome.  In  America 
it  is  met  in  the  system  of  African  Slavery.  Now  in  turn  has  this 
monster  form  of  sin  come  up  in  remembrance  before  Heaven  and 
awaits  its  final  doom.  A  fearful  crisis  approaches.  Light  has 
broken  upon  this  dark  domain  of  sin.  The  grim  monster  writhes 
in  anguish  and  rouses  all  his  ire  for  the  last  conflict.  It  is  our 
division  of  the  great  and  final  battle,  which  shall  soon  caluminate 
in  the  universal  triumph  of  civil  and  social  freedom,  and  of  a  pure 
Religion. 

It  is  not  the  design  of  the  following  chapters  to  advocate  any 
theory  on  the  subject  of  the  Millennium,  but  to  present  some  of 


PREFACE.  Vll 

the  features,  and  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  a  generally  looked 
for,  and  a  much  desired  event.  It  does  not  so  much  concern  us 
when  the  Millennium  shall  commence — whether  before  or  after  the 
judgment,  or  how  long  it  shall  continue — whether  literally  a 
thousand  years,  or  for  an  indefinitely  long  period,  as  it  does  to  know 
what  shall  be  the  signs  of  its  coming ;  what  its  character ;  what 
is  doing  as  a  providential  agency,  and  what  the  Church  has  to  do, 
as  a  matter  of  human  agency,  to  bring  about  this  happy  period  ? 
It  is  designed  to  take  that  kind  of  practical  view  of  the  subject 
in  which  it  is  believed  the  great  majority  of  evangelical  Christians 
harmonize. 

It  seems  to  the  writer  much  to  be  deplored  that  that  happy  age, 
— that  "  golden  age  "  of  Christianity,  on  which  prophets  have 
loved  to  dwell,  and  sacred  poets  to  sing,  and  the  great  teach- 
ers in  Israel  to  expatiate ;  and  of  which  saints  of  all  ages  have 
delighted  to  talk  and  write,  to  hope  and  pray,  should,  in  some 
quarters,  be  so  treated  as  to  prejudice  the  minds  of  pious,  sober 
men  against  the  discussion  of  it.  Because  it  has  been  made  the 
theme  of  strange  speculations  and  wild  vagaries,  it  is  not  the 
less  a  theme  suited  to  raise  the  hopes,  and  wing  the  faith,  and  fill 
with  holy  joy  the  hearts  of  all  God's  people.  Discard  the  idea 
of  a  yet  to  come  golden  age  of  the  Church,  and  how  can  we  vin- 
dicate the  ways  of  God  in  the  dispensations  of  his  grace  among 
men  ?  Only  the  scanty  first  fruits  shall  be  gathered  in  during 
the  present  dispensation.  During  "  these  times  of  the  Gentiles," 
the  gospel  is  to  be  preached  to  all  nations  as  a  "  witness ; "  and  a 


VIU  PREFACE. 

Gentile  Church  shall  be  gathered  in — a  great  company  of  believ- 
ers shall  be  taken  out  of  all  nations,  who,  during  this  dispensation, 
shall  stand  as  the  representative  of  the  Church  of  God,  more  con- 
spicuous, more  glorious  than  the  Church  had  ever  been  before,  but 
of  no  glory  compared  with  that  which  shall  follow.  The  great 
harvest  age  of  the  Church  is  yet  to  come ;  and  shall  we  not  conr 
template  it  as  one  of  the  great  facts  of  our  blessed  Religion  ? 
It  is  eminently  fitted  to  fire  the  zeal  and  quicken  the  diligence  of 
the  people  of  God. 

The  writer's  object  will  be  gained  if  he  shall  contribute  some 
humble  share  to  guide  the  minds  of  his  readers  to  a  serious  con- 
templation of  these  great  events  which  seem  to  be  hastening  on 
apace,  and  prepare  them  to  meet  a  consummation  so  devoutly 
to  be  wished. 

The  world  is,  at  the  present  moment,  in  a  singularly  expectant 
posture — waiting  the  next  grand  climacteric  in  human  affairs. 
Again,  the  great  heart  of  the  world  yearns  for  a  Deliverer,  The 
whole  creation  groaneth  beneath  burdens  too  burdensome  to  be 
borne.  There  is  a  feeling  in  the  human  breast  that  despotism, 
bloodshed,  fraud,  oppression  and  unbridled  lust,  have,  in  defiance 
of  heaven,  rioted  long  enough,  and  that  a  righteous  God  will  soon 
rise  in  his  wrath  and  make  a  short  work.  This  prophetic  yearn- 
ing for  deliverance — ^this  instinctive  prophecy  of  the  human  heart, 
is  not  peculiar  to  the  Christian.  The  Hindoo,  the  Mohammedan, 
the  Papist  feels  it.     The  world  waits  the  coming  change. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  sheets  of  this  work  have  been  submitted  to  my  perusal, 
by  the  great  kindness  of  its  author.  He  has  with  equal  friend- 
ship and  humility  asked  the  expression  of  my  opinion  concerning 
it.  I  hardly  feel  it  becoming  in  me  to  assume  a  compliance  with 
such  a  request.  I  certainly  have  no  power  to  add  any  value  to 
the  author's  well-earned  and  established  reputation  given  hun  by 
his  previous  works.  The  world  of  readers  have  expressed  their 
continued  and  unqualified  admiration  of  the  knowledge  of  facts, 
and  the  wisdom  of  the  conclusions,  which  these  books  have  dis- 
played. The  present  publication  will  certainly  increase  this  ex- 
tended confidence  and  respect,  and  gain  for  its  author  even  a 
higher  reputation  than  he  has  before  possessed. 

In  the  midst  of  overwhelming  duties,  I  have  read  it  with  great 

delight.     I  should  not  hold  myself  responsible  for  an  agreement 

in  all  its  details  of  opinion.     I  should  feel  compelled  to  carry 

some  of  its  conclusions  much  farther.     I  should  adopt  as  neces- 

(ix) 


X  INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 

sary  deductions,  or  even  as  indispensable  elements  of  argument 
and  expectation,  some  great  facts  from  which  the  author  relucts 
in  doubt.  But  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  whole  line  of 
argument  and  conclusion  which  is  here  laid  out, — nor  will  it  be 
easy,  with  reason,  to  reject  the  general  results  which  are  deduced. 
The  interest  of  the  argument  and  arrangement  is  maintained 
without  flagging ;  and  the  inteUigent  Christian  reader  will  find 
himself  unwilling  to  lay  down  the  book  until  he  has  completed 
its  perusal. 

The  closing  chapters  upon  the  destiny  of  the  earth  are  vastly 
important.  They  involve  a  truth,  rarely  mentioned,  perhaps  not 
often  considered,  and  yet  I  am  persuaded,  the  very  revelation 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  upon  the  subject.  A  restored  earth, 
the  future  everlasting  dwelling-place  of  the  redeemed  of  God, 
has  long  been  to  my  mind,  the  clear  promise  and  testimo- 
ny of  the  word  of  God  upon  this  subject.  "We,  according 
to  his  promise,  are  looking  for  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness."  The  author  of  this  volume  brings  out  this  tri- 
umphant prospect,  succinctly  but  clearly.  He  might  have  en- 
larged it  with  multiplied  details,  and  fortified  it  with  many  divine 
authorities.  What  he  has  done,  he  has  done  wisely  and  well. 
I  cannot  doubt  his  book  will  be  the  means  of  awakening  far 
more  general  attention  to  this  great  subject,  and  extending  an 
inquiry  and  study  which  cannot  but  result  in  the  conviction  of 
increasing  numbers  of  Christians  of  the  truth  and  justice  of  his 
conclusions. 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE.  XI 

With  proper  diffidence  of  my  right  to  the  position  implied  in 
a  commendation  of  this  work, — but  with  very  great  sincerity  of 
pleasure  in  my  own  perusal  of  it,  I  very  cheerfully  accept  the 
honor  offered  me  in  the  author's  request  for  this  approving  intro- 
ductory note.  S.  H.  T. 

New  York,  January  23, 1861. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGB 

The  hope  of  a  Golden  Age— John's  vision— The  three  Tabernacles— 
The  Temple,  the  New  Jerusalem,  or  the  Perfect  Temple,  types  of 
the  Church,  Millitant,  Triumphant  or  Millennial,  and  the  Church 
Perfect  and  Glorified— Our  plan— Nature  and  character  of  the  Mil- 
lennium,    1 

CHAPTER  n. 

Duration  of  the  Millennium — How  it  is  to  be  brought  about — The 
means  and  instrumentalities — The  mode  of  the  Divine  operation,    .    16 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Signs  of  the  approach  of  the  Millennium  —  Premonitions  —  Prepara- 
tions—Judgments — Civil  Revolutions  —  Increase  of  Knowledge — 
Apostasies— Persecutions — Sealing  of  the  Servants  of  God,    .        .    28 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Signs — Destruction  of  the  Papacy  :  of  Islamism— The  Greek  Church- 
Severance  of  Church  and  State — Restoration  of  the  Jews— The  slay- 
ing the  Witnesses, .        .41 

CHAPTER  V. 

These  Signs  verified  in  our  age — Its  characteristics :  judgments — Civil 
commotions— Wars— Spread  of  the  Gospel— Apostasies — The  Man 

of  Sin, 53 

( xiii ) 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI.  PAGE 

Characteristics  of  our  Age— Modern  Infidelity  as  the  Man  of  Sin,       .    70 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

More  Signs — Paganism — Popery — The  Hierarchy  of  England  and  of 
Scotland — Increase  of  religious  knowledge— Stupidity  and  listless- 
ness  of  the  wicked — Extensive  revivals  of  Religion,        .        .        .88 

CHAPTER  Vm. 

Mohammedanism :  giving  no  doubtful  signs  of  coming  change— The 
character,  mission  and  destiny  of  Moslemism — The  late  war  and  its 
results— Eleventh  sign,      .        . 107 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Movements  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  indicating  the  approach  of  the  latter- 
day  glory — The  present  condition  of  the  Jews,  a  (12th)  sign  of  the 
times, 125 

CHAPTER  X. 

More  signs  of  the  times — Want  of  reverence,  of  loyalty— Signs  in  the 
Church — Abounding  wickedness, .137 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Great  Battle— The  slaying  of  the  Witnesses— Their  restoration 
and  ascension  to  Heaven, .        .        .  155 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

The  year  1858 — The  financial  crisis  and  the  Great  Awakening,    .        .  170 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

The  year  1858 — The  Sepoy  Mutiny  and  the  renovation  of  India — Peace 
with  China  and  what  of  it — Opening  of  Japan — The  Treaty — The 
Embassy — Africa  and  her  Interior — The  Ocean  Telegraph — The 
Great  Eastern— A  new  era, 196 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  great  American  Crisis  ;  or  the  Conflict  of  1861— Its  causes,  char- 
acter and  results— The  hand  of  God  in  it 221 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XV.  PAGB 

The  Scripture  view  ;  or  several  Scripture  representations  of  the  Great 
Conflict, 243 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Day  of  Vengeance  and  the  Year  of  the  Redeemed,       .        .        .256 

CHAPTER  XVn. 
Zechariah,  14th  chapter,  and  its  utterances, 272 

CHAPTER  XVm. 

The  argument  from  analogy— How  is  God  wont  to  deal  with  his  People ; 
and  how  with  the  Wicked  ? 289 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  duty  of  Christians  in  reference  to  the  near  approach  of  the  Mil- 
lennium,      303 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Our  Age — Troublous  times— Safe  to  trust  in  God— The  end  of  the 
wicked — The  people  of  God  urged  to  renewed  activity,   .        .        .  314 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Earth  the  future  and  final  residence  of  the  Saints — The  Scripture 
proof— Heaven  a  place — and  what  place  more  suitable  or  more 
probable  ?— good  enough,  pleasant  enough,  and  large  enough,  .  326 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Objection  :  that  this  earth  is  not  large  enough  for  the  future  residence 
of  all  earth's  redeemed — Spiritual  bodies ;  their  locomotive  powers — 
The  employments  of  heaven — Sin  the  great  evil,      ....  336 


HlY 


THE  COMING  CRISIS  OF  THE  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  hope  of  a  Golden  Age — John's  vision — The  three  Tabernacles — The 
Temple,  the  New  Jerusalem,  or  the  Perfect  Temple,  types  of  the  Church, 
Militant,  Triumphant  or  Millennial,  and  the  Church  Perfect  and  Glorified 
— Our  Plan — Nature  and  character  of  the  Millennium. 

Hope  has  ever  pictured  to  the  human  mind  the  idea  of  some 
future  golden  age.  Poets  have  sung  the  good  time  coming. 
Philosophers  have  portrayed  their  Utopias ;  in  which  all  the 
social  and  domiestic  relations  of  man  shall  be  blessed  —  laws 
and  civil  institutions  shall  realize  all  their  beneficent  designs 
— in  which  man  in  all  his  relations  and  positions  shall  expand 
into  a  perfect  manhood ;  in  which  his  mental  and  moral  capabili- 
ties shall  meet  their  full  development,  and  he  flourish  in  all  his 
primeval  glory — in  which  renovated  nature,  disenthralled  from 
the  curse  of  six  thousand  years,  shall  glow  again  in  all  her  pris- 
tine loveliness  and  beauty  :  "  beautiful  meadows  alternated  with 
pleasant  groves ;  a  serene  and  cloudless  sky  spread  over  them, 
and  a  soft,  celestial  light  sheds  a  magical  brilliancy  over  every 
object.     The  heroes  there  renew  their  favorite  sports" — Orpheus 


35  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

discourses  enchanting  music.  Perpetual  spring  reigns  :  the  earth 
teems  with  bounty  thrice  a  year ;  and  all  cares,  pains  and  infirm- 
ities are  banished  from  those  happy  abodes. 

But  the  longing  desire  and  the  cherished  expectation  of  a 
return  to  earth  of  the  beauty  and  glory  of  Paradise,  is  by  no 
means  a  notion  but  dimly  and  doubtfully  traced  through  heathen 
Mythologies  or  systems  of  ancient  Philosophy ;  or  faintly  im- 
aged forth  in  early  dispensations  of  the  true  Faith.  We  ever 
and  anon  meet  in  these  systems  and  dispensations,  as  might 
be  expected,  reflections  —  scattered  rays,  of  these  animating 
truths,  more  or  less  vivid  and  just ;  yet  the  idea  of  earth's  eman- 
cipation from  the  curse,  and  the  inauguration  of  the  reign  of  peace 
and  righteousness  among  men,  lives  with  the  best  religious  in- 
stincts of  the  human  heart,  and  is  associated  with  the  most  ecstatic 
hopes  of  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 

Weary  and  heavy  laden,  strugghng  against  life's  burdens,  and 
but  too  often  overcome  by  its  temptations  and  sins,  the  hopeful, 
waiting  children  of  the  promise  are  reaching  forward  to  the 
halcyon  days  when  the  beauties  and  glories  of  Eden  shall 
again  return,  and  the  voice  of  God  shall  again  walk  among  the 
trees  of  the  garden.  Angels  shall  mingle  with  men,  and  heaven 
and  earth  enjoy  sweet  communion.  Seers  of  old  have  pre- 
dicted such  a  period;  ancient  bards  have  sung  it — patriarchs, 
and  saints  in  every  age  of  the  Church,  have  prayed  for,  hoped  and 
waited  for  these  golden  days — when  all  shall  be  righteous,  when 
the  New  Jerusalem  shall  be  came  down  from  heaven — when  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed  and  all  eyes  shall  see  it — 
when  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord,  and  his  will  shall  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven ; 
when  sickness  and  sorrrow  shall  no  more  intrude ;  when  all  tears 
shall  be  wiped  away : 


THE    THREE    TABERNACLES,  3 

"  Disease  was  none  ;  the  voice  of  war  forgot , 
The  sword,  a  share  ;    a  pruning-hook,  the  spear: 
Men  grew  and  multiplied  upon  the  earth, 
And  filled  the  city  and  the  waste ;  and  Death 
Stood  waiting  for  the  lapse  of  tardy  age, 
That  mocked  him  long." 

This  was  the  beatific  vision  which  the  beloved  disciple  saw  on 
the  Isle  of  Patmos.  A  vista  was  opened  to  him  through  the 
clouds  that  should  darken  the  pathway  of  the  Church  in  her 
onward  career  through  the  world,  and  he  saw,  as  if  painted  on 
canvas,  the  future  glories  of  the  Millennial  day. 

"  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  saying.  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and 
they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them, 
and  be  their  God.  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
their  eyes ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor 
crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain:  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away."  This  is  the  glorious  consummation  of 
all  so  devoutly  wished  for,  prayed  for  and  waited  for,  by  all 
whose  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life.  They  are 
the  Temple  of  the  living  God — living  stones  in  the  true  Taber- 
nacle, the  New  Jerusalem,  descended  out  of  heaven  from  God. 

Mention  is  made  of  three  tabernacles  erected  by  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  used  as  their  great  central  places  of  worship  before 
the  building  of  the  Temple  by  Solomon.  The  first  was  erected 
by  Moses  in  the  early  period  of  the  journey  through  the  desert;  the 
second  was  the  one  of  which  we  have  a  veiy  particular  account 
in  the  last  half  of  the  book  of  Exodus ;  which  is  by  distinction 
called,  the  tabernacle;  the  third  was  the  tabernacle  built  by 
David  on  the  reception  of  the  ark  from  the  house  of  Obed-edom. 
It  is  the  second,  the  one  known  as  the  tabernacle,  the  one  made 
after  the  "  pattern  shown  in  the  mount,"  which  I  shall  take  occa- 


4  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

sion  to  use  to  illustrate  an  important  idea  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

This  Tabernacle  was  designed  to  be  a  stiking  type  of  the  true 
Church.  The  apostle  Paul  speaks  of  the  gospel  Church  as  the 
true  tabernacle,  which  God  hath  pitched  and  not  man.  And 
again  he  speaks  of  the  Tabernacle  and  the  things  pertaining 
thereto  as  the  patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens.  He  calls  the 
tabernacle  the  "holy  things  made  with  hands,  but  which  are  fig- 
ures of  the  true  ; "  or  the  spiritual  tabernacle  made  without  hands 
— the  kingdom  that  cometh  without  observation — that  is  not  of 
this  world.  It  is  called  a  "  worldly  sanctuary,"  in  distinction 
from  the  heavenly,  or  that  which  is  signified  by  the  typical  one. 
The  Church  is  called  a  Temple — a  living  Temple.  The  Tab- 
ernacle was  a  type — a  sort  of  miniature  representation  of  the 
Church — a  "  figure  of  the  true  tabernacle." 

The  design  of  the  Tabernacle  is  further  suggested  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  was  built.  First,  it  was  made  after  a  heavenly 
model.  God  charged  Moses  that  he  should  see  to  it  that  he  made 
all  things  "  after  the  pattern  shown  him  in  the  mount."  The 
various  materials  of  which  every  several  part  should  be  made ; 
its  form,  dimensions,  curtains,  coverings ;  every  tenon,  socket,  loop 
and  tache ;  every  minute  particular  was  specified.  No  less  than 
fifteen  chapters  are  taken  up  in  the  details  of  the  directions  how 
the  tabernacle  should  be  constructed,  together  with  its  furniture, 
the  officiating  priests,  their  vestments  and  duties. 

The  Tabernacle,  too,  was  built  by  the  voluntary  contrihitions 
of  the  people.  They  brought  their  silver  and  their  gold,  their 
jewels,  their  precious  stones,  fine  linen,  wood,  brass,  and  skins — a 
great  variety  of  materials  of  the  richest  kind.  Judging  from 
the  immense  amount  of  wealth  which  appears  to  have  been  ex- 
pended in  the  construction  of  the  Tabernacle,  in  connection  with 
the  fact  that  the  Israelites  were  at  this  time  sojourners,  or  wan- 


COST    OF    THE    TABERNACLE.  5 

derers  in  the  wilderness,  we  may  believe  that  it  was  a  selection, 
if  not  an  accumulation  of  most  of  the  precious  things  of  the 
nation. 

The  cost  and  elegance  of  the  Tabernacle  is  a  matter  which 
deserves  a  passing  notice.  We  have  data  from  which  we  may  cal- 
culate at  least  a  part  of  the  expense  of  this  structure.  Simply 
the  gold  and  the  silver,  used  in  the  construction,  amounted  to  more 
than  $800,000  ($810,600)  ;  and  if  we  add  to  this  the  brass  and 
copper,  and  shittim  wood ;  the  rich  embroidered  curtains  and  cano- 
pies ;  the  jewels  set  in  the  High  Priest's  ephod  and  breastplate ; 
the  furniture  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  the  skillful  workmanship 
of  the  whole,  the  value  must  .be  immense.  A  million  of  our 
money  would  not  cover  it.  This  sum  was  raised  partly  by  vol- 
untary contributions  and  presents,  and  partly  by  a  poll-tax  of  half 
a  shekel  a  head  for  every  male  Isi*aelite  above  20  years  old. 
The  sum  raised  by  this  tax  was  100  talents,  and  1775  shekels,  that 
is,  £35,354  75.  6d.,  or  $157,000.  The  beauty,  elegance,  expen- 
siveness,  and  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  Tabernacle,  indicate  a 
design  in  its  construction,  much  beyond  the  mere  convenience  of 
affording  the  wandering  Israelites  a  place  of  worship.  It  was 
a  figure  of  things  to  come — a  type  of  the  true  gospel  Church. 

But  we  have  another  representation  of  the  Church — or  a  met- 
aphorical description  of  the  true  Tabernacle,  or  heaven.  After  the 
vision  of  the  general  judgment,  "  John  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned 
for  her  husband.  And  1  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  say- 
ing, Behold,  the  Tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will 
dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself 
shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God."  And  in  this  condition 
of  things  it  is  added,  there  shall  be  no  "tears" — no  "death" 
— ^nor  "  sorrow  nor  crying,"  nor  "  pain," — "/or  the  former  things 
are  passed  away^     This  is  of  course  the  perfect,  consummated, 


6  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

the  glorified  state  of  the  Church — not  only  an  advanced  condition 
of  the  Church,  but  the  final  and  perfect  condition.  This  is  the 
true  Tabernacle  itself,  for  which  every  former  building  has  been 
preparing  the  way,  and  for  which  each  has  been  preparing  stones 
with  which  to  build. 

The  tabernacle  well  represented  the  Church  in  the  wilderness 
— the  Church  migratory — the  Church  altogether  militant.  Dur- 
ing this  condition,  the  Church  has  no  rest — no  habitation — she  is 
the  camp  of  the  great  Captain — the  host  of  the  Lord  dwelling  in 
a  tent.  The  final  and  glorified  state  of  the  Church  shall  be  a 
state  of  rest  and  habitation — unchangeable — and  is  very  appro- 
priately represented  by  a  city — a  city  that  hath  "  foundations," 
not  to  be  undermined  or  in  any  way  subject  to  the  decay  of  time — 
a  city  of  "  habitation  ; "  those  who  dwHl  in  it  shall  be  at  rest,  shall 
fear  no  change — whose  streets  are  oi'ffold — whose  walls  are  of  pre- 
cious stones — whose  gates  are  of  pearl — and  whose  light  is  the 
Temple  of  the  Lord ;  and  whose  gates,  on  every  side,  are  open 
night  and  day. 

This  we  may  call  the  New  Jerusalem  state  of  the  Church,  or 
the  Church  triumphant.  But  between  the  Tabernacle  state  of 
the  Church  and  the  New  Jerusalem  state,  there  appears  to  be 
an  intermediate  dispensation,  which  we  may,  with  propriety,  call 
the  Temple  state  of  the  Church.  After  the  migratory  state  of  God's 
people  was  ended  and  they  changed  their  tents  for  the  substantial 
dwellings  of  Palestine,  they  finally  exchanged  the  Tabernacle, 
which  was  the  symbol  of  their  wilderness  state,  for  the  yet  more 
substantial,  permanent,  beautiful,  and  costly  Temple.  This  we 
may  take  to  represent  an  advanced  state  of  the  Church  and  a 
state  intermediate,  between  the  Tabernacle  of  the  wilderness  and 
the  New  Jerusalem  from  heaven.  The  Temple  was  more  than 
the  Tabernacle,  yet  much  less  than  a  city,  the  New  Jerusalem 
from  heaven.     The  Tabernacle  was  built  after  the  pattern  shown 


THE    NEW   JERUSALEM THE    CHURCH.  7 

in  the  Mount ;  the  Temple  was  built  after  the  similitude  of  the 
Tabernacle,  yet  a  higher  order  of  structure  ;  and  the  New  Jeru- 
salem is  the  true  Spiritual  Tabernacle  itself.  They  are  all  of 
the  same  pattern,  and  are  symbols,  or  representations,  of  the  same 
reality,  each,  however,  an  advanced  step  on  the  preceding. 

If,  then,  we  may  take  the  Tabernacle  as  a  type  of  the  true 
gospel  Church  in  her  wilderness  state,  and  the  New  Jerusalem, 
of  her  glorified  state,  may  we  not  take  the  Temple  as  a  symbol 
of  her  Millennial  state  ? — a  state  of  greater  glory  than  ever  be- 
fore, and  yet  not  of  perfect  glory ;  a  state  of  more  rest,  peace  and 
purity  than  ever  before,  and  yet  not  of  perfect  rest,  peace  or 
purity. 

An  illustration  of  this  kind  indicates  perhaps  better  than 
we  could  otherwise  do,  the  comparative  perfection  of  the  dif- 
ferent dispensations  of  grace  through  which  the  Church  of 
God  has  from  age  to  age  been  conducted.  The  Church  is  a 
growth — from  the  weakest,  rudest  infancy  to  a  beautiful,  perfect 
manhood.  Or  it  is  a  structure,  from  an  altar  of  unhewn  stone, 
to  the  "golden  altar"  that  stands  before  the  throne  of  God 
above.  It  is  the  concentration  and  the  summation  of  the  Divine 
Wisdom,  Goodness  and  Mercy.  It  is  in  the  moral  Universe — the 
Palace  of  the  Great  King — the  Temple  of  the  living  God,  where 
we  behold,  in  all  the  perfection  of  beauty,  the  moral  workman- 
ship of  our  God. 

Allowing  these  preliminary  remarks  to  contribute  what  they 
may  to  the  better  understanding  of  what  shall  follow,  I  propose 
in  the  present  volume  to  pursue  the  following  inquiries : 

I.  What  are  we  to  expect  as  the  Millennial  state  of  the 
Church? 

II.  How  is  such  a  state  to  be  brought  about?  Means — ^instru- 
ments— divine  mode  of  operation  ? 

in.     The  signs  of  the  approach  of  such  a  period. 


o  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

iV.  Are  there  indications  already — do  we  find  these  signs  so 
verified  in  our  own  age  as  to  betoken  its  near  approach  ? 

V.  May  we  expect  this  reign  of  peace  and  righteousness  in 
our  world  without  a  great  conflict  ?  And  what  shall  this  conflict 
be? 

VI.  "What  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  Church  in  reference 
to  the  approach  of  the  Millennium  ? 

There  is  a  very  general  expectation  among  pious  people  that  the 
Church  is  yet  to  enjoy  a  Millennium,  or  a  thousand  years  of  high 
spiritual  prosperity  —  that  this  long  desired  and  happy  period 
shall  be  preceded  and  indeed  induced  by  wars,  commotions  and 
divine  judgments,  as  well  as  by  an  extensive  prevalence  of  the 
gospel ;  and  that  it  shall  be  followed  by  an  unusually  bold  and 
virulent  outburst  of  iniquity — the  long  suppressed  energies  of 
sin  and  the  restrained  violence  and  hatred  of  Satan  being  let  loose 
— which  shall  seem  for  a  time  to  be  about  to  overwhelm  and 
crush  the  Cimrch,  but  which  shall  after  a  little  while  and  in  a 
most  remarkable  way,  be  overruled  to  the  complete  discomfiture 
of  the  Enemy  and  to  the  final  dismay  of  all  the  foes  of  the  Church. 

I.  Our  first  inquiry  relates  to  the  nature  and  character  of  the 
Millennium. 

But  we  meet  at  the  very  threshold  an  objection  against  the  views 
held  concerning  the  Millennium,  by  the  Church  at  large.  A  class, 
and  perhaps  a  growing  class  of  Christians,  do  not  believe  in  any 
intermediate  state  between  the  present  confused,  unbelieving  condi- 
tion of  the  Church,  and  the  glorified  and  perfect  condition.  They 
believe  in  the  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  set  up 
his  personal  reign  on  the  earth — in  the  resurrection  and  judg- 
ment hefore  the  Millennium,  and  in  the  eternal  and  universal  reign 
of  Christ  on  this  earth.  Their  views  of  the  Millennium  are,  that  it 
is  a  perfect  and  glorified  state — that  probation  shall  have  closed — 
sin  be  completely  eradicated  from  the  earth,  and  unalloyed  holiness 


THE   MILLENNIUM MOSAIC     DISPENSATION.  9 

have  exclusive  possession.  The  view  I  take  of  the  Millennium  is 
this :  It  is  in  the  progress  of  Redemption  the  next  signal  dispen- 
sation of  God^s  grace  to  man.  It  is  the  third  and  the  last  dispensa- 
tion under  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  I  say  under  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  for  we  seem,  only  from  the  call  of  Abraham,  to  be  able 
to  make  out,  historically,  a  regular  and  onward  progress  of  the 
work  of  grace.  Before  Abraham,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
which  rose  so  bright  on  Eden  and  shone  for  a  little  season,  cast 
only  a  confused  light  over  this  dark  world — shining  only  ever 
and  anon  through  the  bright  example  of  some  Patriarch  or 
Prophet,  some  Job  or  Melchisedech.  But  after  this  interesting 
epoch,  the  confused  light  became  more  and  more  concentrated, 
and  from  this  period  we  are  able  to  trace  the  regular  gradation 
of  human  salvation.  The  first  grand  step  of  advancement,  we 
call  the  Mosaic  Dispensation,  a  dispensation  limited  in  its  range, 
confined  to  the  people  of  one  small  nation,  and  none  the  less  lim- 
ited in  its  developments  of  spiritual  light  and  life.  It  was  a  car- 
nal dispensation — little  more  than  a  Religion  of  form — at  most  a 
Religion  of  ordinances.  It  did  not  address  itself  strongly  to  the 
moral  sentiments  of  our  natures,  but  stood  rather  in  meats  and 
drinks,  and  diverse  washings.  The  washing  of  regeneration,  the 
doctrine  of  atonement,  the  spiritual  life  of  the  soul,  the  duties  of  uni- 
versal Benevolence,  and  the  retributions  of  futurity,  were  but  dimly 
shadowed  forth.  This  was  the  legal  Dispensation — the  Dispen- 
sation in  which  God  vindicated  his  unity  and  propagated  his 
law.  But  the  light  of  this  dispensation  was  soon  extinguished — 
or  rather  its  light  was  swallowed  up  in  the  transcendently  greater 
light  of  the  gospel  Dispensation.  It  was  as  the  extinguishing  of 
a  twinkling  star-light  by  the  rising  of  the  full-orbed  sun.  The 
narrow  boundaries  of  Jerusalem  were  broken  down — the  whole 
world  now  became  an  arena  for  the  full  development  of  God's 
grace  to  man  through  the  gospel — the  gospel  should  now  be 


10  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

preached  to  all  nations — the  invitation  to  life  and  immortality 
should  be  extended  to  every  son  and  daughter  of  Adam. 

"  The  plan  of  God,  in  revealing  his  will  to  man,  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  great  law  of  his  providence : — first,  the  blade  ;  then 
the  ear ;  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear : — first,  the  blushing  dawn ; 
then  the  rising  sun  ;  then  its  meridian  effulgence.  In  the  revela- 
tion of  his  will,  it  was,  first,  the  promise  as  to  the  seed  of  the 
woman ;  then  the  typical  economy  of  Moses ;  then  came  proph- 
ets who  gradually  unfolded  the  coming  of  a  brighter  day,  when 
the  Lord  would  make  a  *  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  with  the  house  of  Judah.'  And,  then,  at  the  point  of  time 
where  the  lines  of  history  and  prophesy  met  and  blended,  called 
'  the  fulness  of  time,'  '  the  Word  was  made  flesh.'  And  in  the 
person  of  Christ  we  see  again  the  law  of  development ;  he  was 
first  the  babe  of  Bethlehem ;  soon  we  see  him  confounding  the 
doctors  in  the  temple ;  thence  onward,  to  his  baptism  by  John 
and  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  grew  in  favor  with  God  and  with 
man.  And  having  taught  the  way  of  life  as  it  was  never  taught 
before,  and  having  given  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  the  divin- 
ity of  his  mission,  by  the  most  astonishing  manifestation  of  mi- 
raculous power,  having  finished  the  work  which  was  given  to  him 
to  do,  having  revealed  the  great  principles,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  new  covenant,  he  went  up  to  enter  upon  the  glory 
which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was.  And  before 
he  ascended  on  high  he  gave  a  ministry  to  the  Church,  some  to 
be  prophets,  some  apostles,  some  evangelists,  some  pastors  and 
teachers,  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ."  * 

Christianity  was  an  advance  on  the  former  Dispensation,  so 
extraordinary  that  even  the  apostles  formed  no  adequate  concep- 

*  Kirwan,  in  N.  Y.  Observer. 


THE  GOSPEL  TO  BE  PREACHED.  11 

tion  of  it.  Nothing  short  of  a  miracle  could  convince  Peter,  and 
through  him,  the  other  apostles,  that  they  might  go  and  preach  to 
the  Gentiles — and  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  gathered  into  the 
same  fold  and  under  the  same  shepherd  with  the  Jews.  This 
was  the  "  mystery  hidden  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  but 
now  made  known  to  the  apostles.  The  gospel  should  be  preached 
to  all,  and  a  selection — or  election  should  be  made  out  of  all  na- 
tions. But  this  dispensation  gives  signs  of  coming  to  a  close  with- 
out having  accomplished  what  were  announced  should  be  the  final 
consummations  of  the  gospel.  We  expect  that  such  promises  as 
these  will  be  fulfilled :  "  In  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
be  blessed."  "  The  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth,  and  delight  them- 
selves in  the  abundance  of  peace."  "  All  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  fear  him."  "  He  shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and 
from  the  rivers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth."  "  All  kings  shall  fall 
down  before  him;  all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed."  "The 
whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  glory." 

Such  promises  have  not  yet  been  fulfilled;  and  indeed,  we 
have  no  reason  to  expect  their  fulfilment  under  the  present  order 
of  things.  We  look  therefore  for  the  opening  of  new  scenes — 
for  the  ushering  in  of  a  new  order  of  things,  which  shall  be  at 
least  as  signal  an  advance  on  the  present  gospel  dispensation,  as 
that  is  on  the  Mosaic.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  shall  yet  be  uni- 
versal on  this  earth — righteousness  shall  prevail — sin  shall  be  in 
subjection — Rulers,  people — Kings  and  nations  shall  acknowledge 
the  Messiah  as  a  Prince  and  Saviour. 

We  think  therefore  that  we  may  affirm  the  following  things  of 
the  Millennium: 

1.  It  will  not  be  a  sinless  state.  It  is  not  the  final,  perfect, 
glorified  state  of  the  Church.  Man  will  still  be  on  probation. 
Temptations  to  sin  will  still  exist.  All  this  is  very  evident  from 
the  fact  that  at  the  close  of  the  thousand  years,  there  shall  bo  found 


12  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

still  on  earth  such  a  multitude  who  shall  raise  the  standard  of 
revolt  and  make  war  against  the  saints.  Yet,  though  it  shall 
not  be  a  sinless  state,  it  shall  be  a  state  in  which  sin  shall  not 
reign.  During  the  present  dispensation  Satan  still  remains  the 
"  god  of  this  world."  At  the  commencement  of  it,  he  was  van- 
quished, but  not  dispossessed.  During  the  whole  of  this  period 
sin  has  reigned  unto  death.  During  the  happy  period  looked  for, 
righteousness  shall  reign  unto  eternal  life.  Righteousness  shall 
be  in  the  ascendant — shall  be  all-prevalent.  Sin  shall  be  a  re- 
proach and  a  byword.  It  shall  be  the  reign  of  peace — of  pu- 
rity— of  holiness.  It  shall  be  a  period  as  remarkable  at  least  for 
the  preponderance  of  righteousness,  as  the  past  eighteen  hundred 
years  has  been  for  the  preponderance  of  sin — as  remarkable  for 
the  reign  of  Christ  in  the  hearts  of  men,  as  the  past  period  has 
been  for  the  reign  of  Satan. 

2.  We  may  take  the  following  as  some  of  the  characteristics  of 
that  blessed  period :  God  will  be  glorified  on  earth.  Atheism,  infi- 
delity, irreligion  will  be  unknown,  except  as  they  exist  in  cringing 
subordination  to  the  righteous.  Talent,  time,  wealth  will  be  made 
to  honor  and  beautify  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord.  The  kings  of 
the  earth,  the  great,  the  rich,  the  wise,  the  exalted,  will  bring  their 
honor  and  riches  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  They  will  consecrate 
them  to  the  service  of  God.  It  will  be  a  time,  too,  when  the  great 
multitude  of  the  earth's  inhabitants  shall  be  saved.  It  will  be 
especially  a  time  of  the  reign  of  the  Spirit.  "  I  will  pour  my 
spirit  upon  thy  seed  and  my  blessing  upon  thy  offspring."  "  All 
thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  God."  "  This  is  my  covenant 
in  those  days,  saith  the  Lord ;  my  spirit  which  is  upon  thee, 
and  my  words  which  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth,  shall  not  depart 
out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the 
mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the  Lord,  from  henceforth  and  for- 
ever."    There  shall  be  a  succession  of  pious  families  from  gen- 


UNIVERSAL    PEACE.  13 

eration  to  generation.  Piety  shall  descend  from  father  to  son, 
not  by  natural  generation,  but  by  a  promised  effusion  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit,  and  as  a  blessing  on  pious,  parental  instruction  and  believ- 
ing prayer. 

Another  characteristic  of  that  period  shall  be,  that  the  Devil, 
who  now  goes  up  and  down  in  the  earth  like  a  roaring  lion,  seek- 
ing whom  we  may  devour,  shall  he  bound.  Men  shall  then  be 
delivered  from  his  wiles  and  temptations.  The  invisible  powers 
of  darkness  shall  no  more  assail  them — spiritual  wickedness  in 
high  places  no  more  harm  them.  What  a  deliverance  to  be  shield- 
ed from  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one ! 

Again,  it  will  be  a  time  of  universal  peace.  War  is  confess- 
edly one  of  the  greatest  curses  humanity  is  heir  to — the  vilest 
progeny  of  sin.  The  war-spirit,  rioting  in  blood  and  carnage 
which  is  incidental  to  a  wholesale  human  butchery,  may  claim  a 
nearer  kindred  to  the  spirit  of  the  pit  than  any  thing  to  be  found 
on  earth.  But  this  shall  be  no  more :  "  He  maketh  wars  to  cease 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  he  breaketh  the  bow ;  he  cutteth  the 
spear  in  sunder ;  he  burneth  the  chariot  in  fire"  "  They  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and  their  spears  into  pruning- 
hooks."  The  occasions  of  war  shall  be  removed.  The  rights  of 
man  being  no  longer  invaded,  each  doing  as  he  would  that  another 
should  do  to  him,  all  shall  be  peace.  What  a  contrast  from  the 
present  clashing,  contending,  belligerent  state  of  the  world ! 

Health  and  long  life,  again,  will  bless  the  race  of  man.  How 
much  of  life  at  the  present  time  is  but  mere  endurance!  Life 
now  is  not  lived  and  enjoyed,  but  groaned  out  in  anguish  and 
woe !  How  many  meet  the  "  evil  days,"  in  which  they  say,  "  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  them !  "  How  many  walk  in  bitterness  all 
their  life,  languishing  under  weakness  and  pain  !  How  many  are 
cut  off  in  the  very  morning  of  life,  and  see  their  hopes  blasted  ere 
they  were  realized !     But  in  that  day  it  shall  not  be  so.     «  The 


14  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

inhabitants  shall  no  more  say,  /  am  sick."  "  As  the  days  of  a 
tree,  shall  be  the  days  of  my  people,  and  my  elect  shall  long  en- 
joy the  work  of  their  hands."  They  shall  build  houses  and  in- 
habit them — plant  vineyards  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them.  Death 
is  the  wages  of  sin — and  no  small  share  of  the  sicknesses  and 
diseases  to  which  we  are  subject,  is  but  the  legitimate  fruit  of  our 
own  transgressions. 

The  virtuous  habits  which  will  then  prevail,  will  vastly  prolong 
the  term  of  human  life,  and  of  consequence  greatly  increase  the 
population  of  the  globe ;  and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  on  the 
ground  and  the  increased  industry  and  skill  of  man,  will  fill  the 
earth  with  an  overflowing  abundance.  Long  life,  and  health  and 
plenty  shall  then  be  the  heritage  of  man. 

Another  feature  of  that  age  relates  to  the  happy  change  which 
shall  characterize  civil  governments  in  their  relation  to  the  Church. 
If  not  openly  hostile,  they  have  been  generally  and  really  opposed 
to  the  free  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  Church.  It  shall  not  be 
so  in  the  day  of  Zion's  prosperity.  "  Kings  shall  be  thy  nursing 
fathers."  "  I  will  make  all  thine  officers  peace,  and  thine  exac- 
tors righteousness."  "  Thou  shalt  suck  the  breasts  of  kings." 
The  righteous  being  in  authority,  the  people  shall  rejoice.  "  Kings 
shall  minister  unto  thee."  ''  They  shall  bring  their  riches  and 
glory  unto  thee." 

It  will  be,  too,  a  time  of  extraordinary  knowledge.  Health, 
leisure,  piety,  and  superabounding  plenty  will  make  study  easy 
and  successful.  The  high  state  of  civilization  and  refinement 
which  shall  obtain  in  those  days ;  the  increased  opportunities  for 
gaining  knowledge  ;  the  protracted  term  of  human  existence  ;  the 
increased  aspirations  of  the  pious  mind  after  all  true  knowledge, 
all  imply  that  knowledge  will  be  pursued  with  a  zeal  and  success 
not  now  known. 

But  of    all   the  characteristics   which  shall   distinjruish   that 


A    GOOD    DAY   TO    ZION.  15 

blessed  period,  holiness  shall  be  the  most  prominent.  "  All  the 
■people  sliall  be  righteous."  Abounding  righteousness  shall 
distinguish  that  period.  All  shall  now  be  "  righteousness  and 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  That  is,  the  prevailing 
feeling  of  the  world  shall  be  holy.  Sin  shall  be  kept  in  sub- 
jection— wicked  men  shall  be  held  in  merited  reprobation  and 
contempt — good  men  alone  shall  be  exalted — and  true  worth, 
genuine  goodness,  unostentatious,  sincere  piety  be  honored  among 
men. 

Tliat  shall  be  a  good  day  to  Zion — it  shall  be  the  triumph  of 
Christianity  in  our  world — the  righteous  shall  see  and  be  glad. 

But  how  shall  this  good  time,  so  long  waited  for  by  patriarchs 
and  prophets,  and  prayed  for  by  all  saints,  be  brought  about  ? 
What  means,  what  instruments,  what  divine  interpositions  and 
agencies  shall  be  employed  to  realize  the  many  and  precious  prom- 
ises of  its  coming  ?  We  reserve  these  considerations  for  the  next 
chapter. 

In  the  mean  time  let  us  reflect,  1st,  what  motives  we  have  to  the 
cultivation  of  holiness.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  us. 
The  Millennium  is  simply  an  increase  of  personal  holiness. 

2d.  The  Millennium  is  the  triumph  of  Christianity.  The  Church 
is  now  in  her  wilderness  state.  She  shall  come  forth  in  all  her 
beauty  and  majesty,  put  on  her  strength  and  appear  in  her  glory. 
She  shall  take  possession  of  the  earth.  As  we  trace  this  rising 
kingdom  from  the  humiliation  of  the  cross  to  its  triumph  in  the 
conquest  of  the  world,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  rejoice  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord  our  Saviour. 


>^  Of  T 


CHAPTER  11. 

Duration  of  the  Millennium — How  it  is  to  be  brought  about — The  means 
and  instrumentalities — The  mode  of  the  Divine  operation. 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house 
Bhall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills  ; 
and  all  nations  shall  flow  into  it." — Isa.  ii.  2. 

Isaiah  is  the  far-seeing,  the  evangelical  prophet.  No  one 
speaks  more  freely  of  the  defections  and  sins  of  the  Church.  No 
one  rebukes  more  severely,  yet  opens  so  freely,  unfailing  sources 
of  encouragement.  As  in  the  motto  to  this  chapter,  he  often  re- 
fers to  the  future  glory  of  the  Church — to  that  more  exalted  and 
advanced  state  of  Zion  which  we  call  the  Millennium,  or  the 
highest  earthly  condition  of  the  Church ;  and  also  to  her  jfinal 
and  glorified  state. 

"  The  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house"  is  a  term  which  the  Jews 
were  accustomed  to  apply  to  the  Temple,  or  rather  to  the  hill  on 
which  the  Temple  stood.  The  meaning  of  the  prediction  is  that 
Zion,  the  true  Church — the  living  Tabernacle — that  which  is  rep- 
resented by  the  term  Zion,  or  the  true  Temple  of  the  Lord,  is  des- 
tined to  hold  a  positioji  yet  on  this  earth  which  she  has  never  yet 
held.  She  is  to  be  exalted  above  all  the  principalities  and  powers 
of  this  world — she  is  to  be  "  established"  in  honor  and  riches  and 


THE  GOLDEN  AGE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  17 

moral  power  far  above  all  the  towering  hills  of  human  pretension 
— far  above  the  loftiest  mountains  of  earthly  power  and  magnifi- 
cence. 

II.  In  the  prosecution  of  the  theme  announced,  I  proceed  to  a 
consideration  of  our  second  inquiry  :  How  is  the  state  of  things 
alluded  to  to  be  brought  about  ? 

I  have  not  deemed  it  necessfiry  to  consume  time  to  establish 
i\iQfact  that  the  Church  is  yet  to  enjoy  her  golden  age  on  this 
earth.  No  fact  seems  to  be  more  clearly  and  abundantly  estab- 
lished in  the  word  of  God,  and  none  more  fully  responded  to  by 
reason. .  Strange,  indeed,  if  this  earth,  so  admirably  fitted  up  for 
a  habitation  of  man,  should  be  given  up  to  waste  and  spoiling — 
to  the  dominion  of  Satan,  the  god  of  this  world.  How  soon  was 
the  beauty  of  Eden  faded  !  How  soon  the  peace  and  purity  of 
the  primeval  morning  changed  into  the  violence  and  corruption  of 
a  disastrous  day !  Sin  changed  Eden  into  a  wilderness.  The  earth 
has  since  been  full  of  violence.  Carnage  and  bloodshed  and  moral 
corruption  have  principally  made  up  its  history.  But  shall  il  always 
be  so  ?  Shall  not  the  bloom  and  beauty  of  Eden  again  return  ? 
Shall  not  the  tree  of  life  again  scatter  its  leaves  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations  ?  Shall  not  the  tree  of  knowledge  again  flourish  in 
the  midst  of  the  garden  ?  Shall  not  earth's  primeval  beauty  and 
fragrance  return  ?  Shall  not  peace  and  purity,  and  long  life,  and 
plenty  and  health,  like  the  plentiful  and  perennial  streams  from 
some  exhaustless  fountain,  bless  the  now  smitten,  sufiering  race  of 
-man  ?  We  look  for  such  a  period.  Reason,  as  well  as  the  sure 
word  of  prophecy,  allows  us  to  look  for  such  a  period. 

Precisely  how  long  a  period  this  shall  be,  we  may  not  find  it 
easy  to  determine.  Satan  shall  be  bound  a  thousand  years. 
Literally,  a  thousand  years  shall  we  suppose  ?  This  seems  not  to 
preserve  the  proportion  of  things,  and  therefore  militates  against 
reason — nor  does  it  better  accord  with  the  Scripture  representa- 


18  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

tions  of  this  period.  Six  thousand  years  are  allowed  to  'prepare 
for  this  period — two  thousand  in  preparations  so  incipient  and 
indefinite  as  to  leave  it  doubtful  from  any  historical  records  which 
we  have,  whether  the  work  of  redemption  were  really  advancing 
or  retrograding.  From  Adam  to  Abraham  it  was  doubtless  a 
period  of  effective  preparation  ;  but  it  was  that  kind  of  prepara- 
tion which  goes  on  in  the  forest — hewing  the  wood  and  quarrying 
the  marble.  The  next  two  thousand  years  passed  away  princi- 
pally in  the  collection  of  the  materials  for,  and  in  the  laying  of 
the  foundation  of,  the  living  Temple.  During  this  period  (from 
Abraham  to  Christ)  the  superstructure  began  to  be  raised,  but 
so  incomplete  that  a  general  outline  of  the  finished  Temple  could 
scarcely  be  discerned.  Now  Christ  came,  and  from  that  time  the 
ostensible  progress  of  the  work  has  been  much  hastened,  yet 
nothing  is  brought  to  its  completion.  The  Church  has  only 
been  preparing  to  take  possession  of  the  earth — the  Temple  has 
been  being  made  ready  to  be  reared.  There  has  been  no  such 
acknowledged  possession,  no  such  Temple  fully  erected.  Is  it 
reasonable  that  the  preparation  should  occupy  six  thousand  years, 
and  the  actual  realization  and  enjoyment  of  the  complete  build- 
ing but  a  thousand  years  ? 

The  Scriptures,  I  think,  represent  the  Millennium  to  be  an  in- 
definitely long  period — ^I  do  not  know  how  long.  The  number,  a 
thousand,  in  Scripture,  as  also  in  conversation,  is  often  put  for  an 
indefinitely  great  number,  without  intending  to  define  how  great. 
We  find  the  Millennium  spoken  of  in  such  terms  as  these :  "  Yet 
a  little  while  and  the  wicked  shall  not  be ;  but  the  meek  shall  in- 
herit the  earthy  and  shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of 
peace."  The  reign  of  the  wicked,  which  was  at  least  six  thousand 
years,  is  spoken  of  as  a  little  while.  The  reign  of  the  righteous 
on  the  earth  is  spoken  of  as  a  permanent  habitation.  "  Blessed 
are  the  meek  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth."     "In  his  days  shall 


TO    BE    AN    EXALTED    CONDITION.  19 

the  Tighteons  Jiourish."  Abundant  are  the  expressions  which 
speak  of  the  earthly  kingdom  as  a  long  period — long  in  reality, 
and  long  in  comparison  with  the  period  when  sin  has  had  domin- 
ion. 

But  our  position  at  this  time  is,  that  the  expected  Millennium 
of  the  Church  shall  be  an  exalted  condition — a  civil,  social,  do- 
mestic, individual,  and  especially,  a  moral  or  religious  exaltation. 
The  human  apostasy  was  a  signal  and  melancholy  depression  of 
humanity —  a  debasement.  The  newly-created  man  was  a  noble 
creature — godlike,  heavenly ;  and  the  newly-created  earth  was  a 
beautiful  globe,  redolent  with  the  Divine  goodness,  and  radiant 
with  the  Divine  glory.  The  holy,  happy,  beautiful  pair  of  Eden 
found  as  beautiful  a  counterpart  in  that  ever-blooming,  smiling, 
fertile  earth.  But  sin  came  as  a  poison  to  mar  the  face  of  man, 
to  send  disease  and  pain  into  his  bones  and  death  into  his  soul — 
as  the  thunder-bolt,  the  earthquake  and  the  deluge,  to  mar  the 
beauty  of  the  earth ;  and  as  the  demon  of  war,  the  famine  and 
pestilence,  to  send  terror  and  desolation  into  the  habitations  of 
man. 

Man's  condition  has  heretofore  been  a  suffering  and  degraded 
condition.  Despotism,  Infidelity,  Barbarism,  have  been  so  many 
harpies  preying  on  the  vitals  of  man's  well-being  on  earth.  The 
better  condition  of  which  we  speak,  is  to  be  a  deliverance  from 
these  manifold  evils.  The  physical  condition  of  the  earth  shall 
be  changed.  Barrenness  shall  give  place  to  fertility — deformity 
10  beauty.  The  improved  moral  character  of  man — the  vastly 
mcreased  industry,  enterprise  and  public  spirit — an  improvement 
of  taste,  knowledge  and  skill,  will  do  wonders  to  overcome  the 
physical  ruins  of  the  fall,  and  to  renovate,  beautify  and  fertilize 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth.  Civil  governments  will  then  exist 
in  their  perfection.  The  oppressions,  abuses  and  unwarrantable 
usurpations  of  despotism  will  be  unknown.     Wars  shall  cease. 


20  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Even  the  weapons  of  war  shall  be  converted  into  the  implements 
of  husbandry — and  none  shall  ham  war  any  more.  The  social 
condition  of  man  too  shall  then  be  as  remarkably  changed  and 
elevated.  The  causes  of  all  social,  domestic  and  individual  strifes, 
animosities  and  evils  will  be  removed,  and  of  consequence  man 
in  all  these  relations  become  happy.  Nor  need  I  say  how  effect- 
ually the  removal  of  such  evils  will  tend  to  the  further  progress 
of  the  race.  In  nothing  will  the  Millennium  be  more  remarkable 
than  in  rapid  progress  in  all  that  is  good  and  really  worthy  of 
human  pursuit — in  holiness  and  true  goodness ;  in  the  pursuits  of 
knowledge ;  in  progress  in  all  useful  and  ornamental  arts ;  in  the 
sciences ;  in  all  the  peaceful  avocations  of  life  ;  and  in  all  improve- 
ments, inventions,  and  discoveries ;  and  in  whatever  can  contrib- 
ute to  the  true  elevation,  dignity,  enjoyment  and  usefulness  of 
man. 

As  the  basis  and  substratum  of  all  this,  lies  man's  moral  im- 
provement. This  is  the  great  distinctive  characteristic  of  the 
Millennium.  The  cause  that  has  brought  man  into  his  present  con- 
fused and  suffering  condition,  is  not,  as  some  suppose,  simply  that  his 
civil  and  social  relations  are  disordered,  and  consequently  all  that 
is  needed  is  the  reorganization  of  society.  The  cause  is  a  moral 
one.  It  is  because  man  is  a  sinner.  When  therefore,  as  in  the 
Millennium,  men  shall  "  all  be  righteous  " — shall  all  be  "  taught 
of  God  " — "  shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace," 
all  these  natural  evils  shall  be  removed. 

In  the  prevalence  of  holiness,  therefore,  we  shall  meet  all  the 
varied  prosperity  so  abundantly  foretold  of  the  latter-day  glory 
of  Zion. 

But  it  is  time  that  I  proceed  more  directly  to  our  Second  In- 
quiry, viz. : 

How  the  Millennium  shall  be  brought  about  ?  or  the  mode  of  its 
introduction  and  of  what,  as  a  result,  it  shall  consist  ?     First, 


HOW   THE    MILLENNIUM    TO    BE    BROUGHT    ABOUT.  21 

we  may  pursue  the  inquiry  in  relation  to  the  materials  of  which 
it  is  composed ;  and  secondly,  as  to  the  means  and  instruments. 
In  pursuing  the  inquiry,  I  shall  use  the  emblem  of  a  Temple  as  a 
convenient  representation  of  the  Millennial  Church. 

1.  How  shall  this  Temple  be  constructed  as  to  its  materials  ? 
The  Tabernacle,  the  figure  of  the  Church  in  its  first  type,  was 
built  of  a  great  variety  of  choice  materials  brought  by  the  people 
as  their  free-will  offerings — their  jewels  and  most  valued  treas- 
ures. And  the  Temple,  a  structure  not  differing  essentially 
from  the  Tabernacle,  except  as  a  magnificent  durable  edifice  dif- 
fers from  a  frail  tent,  was  built  of  materials  prepared  with  great 
care  and  expense  in  ^previous  reign.  David  prepared  the  mate- 
rials, and  of  these  Solomon  built  the  Temple.  I  mean  that  the 
Millennium  shall  be  a  natural,  and,  under  God's  hand,  a  neces- 
sary result,  drawn  from  all  that  is  good  and  godlike  in  all  the 
past  ages  of  the  Church.  The  Millennium  shall  be  a  concentra- 
tion, an  accumulation  of  the  good  and  right  of  all  past  ages.  It 
shall  be  a  resurrection  (as  it  is  called)  of  all  that  is  approved  of 
God  in  the  past  history  of  the  Church.  The  past  may  be  regard- 
ed in  the  light  of  a  series  of  experiments.  Under  all  possible  cir- 
cumstances— under  all  the  gone-by  forms  of  government — by  the 
aid  of  all  sorts  of  institutions,  systems,  associations,  and  by  a 
great  variety  of  forms  under  which  the  Church  has  existed,  God 
has  been  developing  the  good  and  right.  Under  all  possible  cir- 
cumstances the  7iet  has  been  cast,  gathering  the  good  and  the  bad  ; 
the  bad  has  been  rejected  and  the  good  carefully  gathered  up  and 
preserved.  Truth,  justice,  right — all  that  is  godlike — approved 
of  God,  is  eternal.  It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  believe  that 
every  truth  which  has  been  practically  illustrated  in  the  past  his- 
tory of  our  world  is  immortal,  whether  it  be  in  the  form  of  a 
political  principle  or  precept,  or  a  religious  maxim  or  truth,  or  a 
tjocial,  domestic  or  personal  virtue.     Though  it  shall  seem  to  share 


22  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

the  fate  of  mortals,  yet  it  shall  rise  again.  It  shall  have  part  in 
the  first  resurrection,  and  shall  reign  with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 
Here  God  will  garner  the  wheat,  while  the  chaff  he  will  burn 
with  unquenchable  fire. 

Perhaps  there  has  never  been  a  form  of  government^  in  which, 
with  all  the  rubbish  of  despotism  and  wrong,  which  has  often 
burnt  like  an  oven  and  often  burnt  itself  to  annihilation,  there 
has  not  been  gathered  up  some  sound  maxims  of  political  econ- 
omy— the  pure  gold  of  political  truth.  Republics,  Monarch- 
ies, Despotisms,  have  each  contributed  (though  by  no  means 
equally)  to  form  the  perfect  Temple  of  political  wisdom  which 
the  nations  in  the  days  of  the  Messiah  shall  enjoy.  Under  no 
existing  form  is  the  'patriarchal  form  of  government  so  beauti- 
fully illustrated  as  in  the  present  Chinese  Government.  Nor  do 
I  know  that  any  other  makes  merit  so  exclusively  and  essentially 
the  only  qualification  for  an  office  of  state. 

Other  forms  of  government  are  incidentally  and,  as  by  mistake, 
furnishing  other  fragments  of  the  right  and  true,  which  the  great 
Architect  is  carefully  guarding,  and  which  will  finally  go  to 
make  up  the  sum  total  of  a  perfect  system.  The  political  econ- 
omy of  the  Millennium  shall  be  constructed  of  pre-existing 
materials — shall  be  a  summation  of  the  results  of  all  former  ex- 
periences. No  existing  form  will  answer  the  demands  of  that 
period. 

And  so  I  may  say,  perhaps  with  equal  truth,  there  has  never 
been  a  form  of  Religion — a  Church  organization,  which  has  not 
contributed  some  living  stone  to  the  true  Temple.  As  I  suppose 
no  existing  form  of  civil  government  shall  be  the  prevailing  form 
in  the  Millennium,  so  I  suppose  that  no  present  form  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  is  the  Millennial  form.  Yet  no  form  of  the  Church 
has  been  so  deformed — no  condition  been  so  corrupt,  as  not  to  illus- 
trate some  of  the  true  beauties  and  excellencies  of  the  Church — 


PRINCIPAL    FEATURES    OF   THE    ROMISH    CHURCH.  23 

though  the  worst  forms  of  Christianity  illustrate  the  truth  rather 
by  way  of  contrast  and  perversion.  We  may  take  the  Romish 
Church  for  an  example.  As  an  organization,  this  Church  is  not 
a  system  of  absolute  error,  but  of  perverted  Truth.  It  is  a  fright- 
ful skeleton  of  the  true  Body,  every  bone  and  joint  hung  and  sat- 
urated with  corruption.  Its  soul  is  gone,  and  its  flesh  and  sin- 
ews are  decayed — its  strength  and  beauty  departed.  The  virgin 
daughter  of  Zion  has  become  an  harlot  She  has  a  soul,  but  it 
is  the  soul  of  a  devil.  Yet  no  other  professed  body  of  Christ 
has  retained  so  much  of  the  framework  of  the  true  Church.  A 
counterfeit  coin  may  have  more  of  the  proper  form  of  a  dollar 
than  a  poor,  bruised,  deformed  coin  of  the  genuine  metal.  So 
with  the  Romish  Church.  It  has  retained  the  best  skeleton  of  the 
true  Body ;  but,  oh !  what  a  filling  up — what  distorted  muscles  ! 
What  a  life  heaves  its  lungs !  what  a  soul  animates  its  frame ! 
The  leading  features  of  the  Romish  Church  are,  the  Suprem- 
acy of  the  Pope,  or  Headship  in  her  chief  Bishop  ;  Infallibility 
of  the  Church  ;  Unity  of  the  Church  ;  Consecration  of  the  whole 
man  to  the  good  of  the  Church;  Absolution  by  the  priest,  and  Indul- 
gences. These  are  all,  in  their  relation  to  Christ  and  his  Church, 
great  Truths — though  by  the  Romanizers,  shamefully  perverted. 
Not  one  is  an  absolute  falsehood.  The  chief  Bishop  is  the  Su- 
preme Head  of  the  Church.  Christ  is  this  Bishop,  and  not  the 
Pope.  No  Church  communion  has  more  distinctly  held  up 
before  the  world  the  idea  of  Headship  in  the  Church  than  the 
Romish.  Again,  the  Romish  Church  (like  no  other)  has  kept 
before  the  world  the  idea  of  the  Infallibility  of  the  true  Church 
— absolute  infallibility  in  her  Head,  and  relative  infallibility  in 
herself.  Rome  attributes  Infallibility  to  a  corrupt  Church.  A 
pure,  holy,  godlike  Church  is,  in  the  same  proportion  as  she  is  god- 
like, infallible.  "  Ye  shall  judge  the  world."  "  Ye  shall  judge 
angels."     The  Church  of  the  living  God  is  the  pillar  and  ground 


24  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

of  the  truth.  As  founded  on  the  truth,  as  a  practical  illustra- 
tion of  the  truth,  the  judgments  of  the  Church  must  so  far  be 
according  to  the  truth.  And  of  course  all  the  decisions  of  a  per- 
fect Church  would  be  infallible. 

Nor  is  the  unity  of  the  Roman  Church  a  false  boast.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  false  bonds  which  have  kept  Rome  together,  or  of 
the  base  purposes  of  her  union,  the  two  hundred  millions  of  Ro- 
manists which  are  scattered  over  the  earth,  are  held  together  as 
no  other  organization  has  been  in  our  world.  And  there  has,  too, 
been  a  consecration  of  its  members  to  this  communion  which  has 
been  known  in  no  other.  Nothing  more  accords  with  truth  than  the 
entire  consecration  of  its  members  to  the  true  Church.  And  so  also 
the  offensive  doctrine  of  Absolution  by  the  priest,  contains  a  truth 
(of  which  it  is  the  perversion)  of  great  value.  Christ  does  al- 
low his  people  to  use  his  name,  to  proclaim  pardon  through  his 
blood — to  propound  the  terms  of  forgiveness  and  the  means  of 
sanctifi cation — and  through  faith  and  prayer  to  make  effectual 
these  means.  A  pure,  holy  Church  is  a  repository  of  vast 
powers  for  the  renovation  of  the  world.  The  ministry  of  the 
Church  are  the  authoritatively  constituted  dispensers  of  these 
powers.  And  I  have  no  doubt,  if  the  Church  were  that  high, 
holy,  Christ-like  body  she  should  be,  and  in  the  day  of  her  glory 
wiU  be,  that  such  will  be  her  identity  with  Christ,  such  her  power 
o{  faith  and  prayer,  and  intimate  communion  with  Christ,  that  the 
distorted  Romish  doctrine  referred  to  will  more  nearly  represent 
the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  forgiveness  of  sin  than  the 
present  groveling,  crippled  state  of  the  Reformed  Church  now 
does. 

Even  then,  from  the  abominations  that  make  desolate,  from  the 
ruins  of  Rome,  the  great  King  may  select  important  materials 
with  which  to  construct  the  framework  of  the  new  Building. 
And  in  like  manner  it  might  be  shown  how  the  Divine  Hand,  by 


MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OF    THE   MILLENNIUM.  25 

a  similar  mode  of  selection,  may  make  every  system,  organiza- 
tion and  institution  that  has  been,  contribute  its  choicest  materials 
— contribute  all  that  is  of  any  value  to  exalt  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  above  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  They  shall  bring 
all  their  glory  and  honor  into  it.  The  present  advanced  condition 
of  the  world  is  made  up  of  the  results  of  past  experiences.  That 
yet  higher  condition  of  which  I  speak,  shall  be  the  result  of  a  yet 
longer  train  of  experiences.  Every  new  invention,  discovery  and 
improvement — every  advancement  in  knowledge,  freedom,  civili- 
zation and  science — every  new  conquest  over  some  new  element, 
power  or  substance  in  nature — every  new  facility  for  increased  in- 
tercourse and  communication  with  other  parts  of  the  world,  and, 
more  especially,  every  increase  of  Divine  knowledge  and  of  holy 
principle  and  of  pious  living,  are  not  only  hastening  on,  but  furnish- 
ing the  materials  of  which  the  JVIillennium  is  made  up. 

2.  Our  second  inquiry  under  the  present  head,  relates  to  the 
means  and  instruments  by  which  the  Millennium  shall  be  brought 
in.  The  most  essential  means  is  the  bringing  the  mind  of  the 
world  under  the  tuition  and  influence  of  Divine  Truth,  This  shall 
be  done  by  preaching  a  pure  gospel,  circulating  the  Bible,  promot- 
ing rehgious  education,  and  increasing  and  extending  the  power 
of  the  religious  Press.  Before  this  day  shall  come,  and  as  con- 
tributing to  its  realization,  "many  shall  go  to  and  fro,  and  knowl- 
edge shall  increase."  By  these  means  man  is  made  a  nobler  being 
and  a  fitter  material  for  such  a  state  of  things,  and  a  fitter  instru- 
ment to  advance  it. 

But  there  are  other  means  of  bringing  about  this  period  of  a 
more  extraordinary  character,  which  we  may  speak  of  either  as 
means  or  as  signs,  for  they  are  both.  I  shall  therefore  do  little 
more  than  to  mention  them  here.  They  more  properly  belong  to 
another  part  of  the  general  subject,  viz.,  the  signs  of  the  coming 
of  the  Millennium.     I  refer  to  the  wars  and  great  commotions,  to 


26  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

the  judgments^  famines  and  pestilences  which  shall  precede  the 
peaceful  reign  of  righteousness.  God  is  known  by  ihe  judgments 
he  executes.  In  no  way  does  God  more  clearly  and  dreadfully 
vindicate  his  claims  to  sovereignty  than  by  his  judgments.  Men 
must  not  only  be  prepared  with  right  hearts  and  right  charac- 
ters for  the  Millennium,  but  there  are  formidable  obstacles  to  be 
removed  out  of  the  way.  Satan's  empire  is  to  be  broken  up 
— mighty  dynasties  to  be  dissolved — systems  as  old  as^  the  world 
— institutions  as  old  as  sin — manners,  customs,  maxims  and  prac- 
tices interwoven  with  every  fibre  of  life,  and  cherished  by  the 
strongest  feelings  of  a  perverted  heart,  and  fed  by  the  worst  pas- 
sions humanity  is  heir  to,  are  all  to  be  annihilated.  Mighty  revo- 
lutions are  to  be  effected  before  the  empire  of  peace  and  righteous- 
ness can  be  established  on  this  earth.  Something  may  be  done 
by  gradual,  peaceful  means — by  instruction  in  righteousness- 
preaching,  teaching,  moral  suasion.  Other  obstacles  can  only 
be  broken  to  pieces  by  the  sledge-hammer  of  War,  or  be  starved 
out  by  gaunt  Famine,  or  be  burnt  out  by  the  devouring  flame, 
or  perish  under  the  withering  blast  of  the  Pestilence.  As  the 
King  of  kings  goeth  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer,  preparing 
the  way  to  set  up  his  kingdom  on  the  earth,  the  Pestilence  goeth  he- 
fore  him — a  sword  proceedeth  out  of  his  mouth,  and  he  is  red  as 
one  that  treadeth  the  wine-press.  Whatever  opposeth  is  taken 
out  of  the  way ;  valleys  are  exalted,  mountains  made  low,  rough 
places  smooth,  and  the  way  of  the  Lord  prepared  before  him. 
But  without  pursuing  the  subject  further  at  present,  we  are 
brought  again  to  the  conclusion  that  God  worketh  all  things  after 
the  counsel  of  his  own  will.  He  worketh  by  one  set  of  means 
and  then  by  another — by  all  sorts  of  instruments,  by  all  sorts  of 
systems  and  institutions,  by  all  sorts  of  men  and  measures,  educ- 
ing good  from  all  and  rejecting  the  evil — and  then  preserving  all 
these  fragments  of  good  and  erecting  them  at  last  into  one  beau- 


THE  CHURCH  TO  BE  GLORIFIED  ON  EARTH.       27 

tiful,  perfect  Temple — the  perfect  from  the  imperfect,  good  ex- 
tracted from  evil,  order  and  beauty  and  perfection  brought  together, 
and  the  Temple  constructed  out  of  the  most  confused  medley  of 
deformity  and  confusion.  What  an  idea  does  this  give  us  of  the 
wisdom,  power  and  goodness  of  God  I  All  events,  all  systems, 
all  things  are  at  his  command.  It  is  his  purpose  to  glorify  his 
Church  on  this  earth — to  establish  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  to  exalt  it  above  the  hills. 
He  will  overturn,  and  overturn,  and  overturn,  till  all  that  hinder- 
eth  shall  be  taken  out  of  the  way,  and  on  the  ruins  of  Satan's 
empire  shall  arise  the  beautiful  Temple  of  Christ's  Millennial 
glory  on  earth. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Signs  of  the  approach  of  the  Millennium— Premonitions — Preparations — 
Judgments — Civil  Revolutions — Increase  of  Knowledge — Apostasies — 
Persecutions— Sealing  of  the  Servants  of  God. 

•*  Tell  US,  when  shall  these  things  be  ?  and  wha*  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming, 
and  of  the  end  of  the  world  ?  "—Ma«f.  xxiy.  3. 

Here  are  three  distinct  questions :  1st.  When  shall  these  things 
be  ?  2d.  What  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming  ?  and  3d.  What 
shall  be  the  signs  of  the  end  of  the  world  ?  There  was  a  pro- 
priety in  blending  these  questions,  as  there  also  was  in  our  Sav- 
iour's blending  the  answers  he  gave  to  them.  The  particular 
"  coming  "  of  Christ  here  spoken  of,  is  his  coming  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem.  But  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  is  used  as 
a  type  of  the  destruction  of  the  world  and  the  ushering  in  of  the 
last  Judgment.  The  premonitions,  preparations  and  signs  of 
the  one  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  of  the  other.  And  it 
was  to  bcexpected  that  Christ  would  speak  of  the  two  in  sim- 
ilar terms — so  much  so  that  we  should  not  always  be  able  to  de- 
termine which  he  is  speaking  of.  The  one  seems  to  be  used  as 
the  type  of  the  other.  Or  the  one  is  the  primary  and  the  lesser 
fulfilment,  and  the  other  the  great  and  the  ultimate  fulfilment. 

(.28) 


SCRIPTURE    PROPHECY — GOG   AND    MAGOG.  29 

And  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark,  that  it  is  a  peculiarity 
of  Scripture  prophecy  that  the  same  prediction  may  have  more 
fulfilments  than  one.  It  may  be  applicable  to  one  or  more 
events,  and  has  a  succession  and  gradation  in  its  fulfilments. 
The  7  2d  Psalm  is  primarily  a  prediction  of  the  glory  of  Solomon's 
reign,  but  ultimately,  and  in  a  higher  sense,  applicable  to  the  glories 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  So,  in  like  manner,  the  predic- 
tion of  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  finds  its  fulfilment  in  his 
coming  to  be  avenged  on  his  crucifiers — to  destroy  Jerusalem,  and 
to  put  out  of  the  way  an  old  and  useless  dispensation  and  to  bring 
in  a  new  one ;  and  then,  in  his  coming,  to  set  up  his  earthly  king- 
dom and  to  begin  his  Millennial  reign ;  and  finally,  in  his  coming, 
to  judge  the  world,  to  take  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  and  to  be 
glorified  in  his  saints.  Each  preceding  event  is  not  only  a  type 
of,  but  is  preparatory  to  the  following.  All  are  parts  of  the  same 
great  scheme — an  ascending  series,  reaching  onward  to  the  final 
end. 

Analogous  to  this,  we  find  any  great  confederated  enemies  of 
God's  people  designated  as  Gog  and  Magog,  and  the  gi'eat  battle- 
field on  which  they  confront  the  followers  of  the  Lamb,  is  called 
Armageddon.  Such  prophecies  have,  in  the  subordinate  sense, 
been  already  more  than  once  fulfilled.  Yet  we  find  that  a  still 
more  formidable  Gog  and  Magog  than  have  ever  yet  appeared 
are  to  meet  in  dreadful  combat,  the  representatives  of  Christ's 
people,  and  to  contend  for  the  dominion  of  the  earth,  when  Christ 
shall  be  about  to  begin  his  reign  of  a  thousand  years — and  a  yet 
more  dreadful  encounter  shall  await  the  Church  of  Christ  from 
the  Gog  and  Magog  that  shall  appear  at  the  close  of  Christ's 
reign  of  a  thousand  years  on  earth.  The  last  shall  be  the  fulfilment, 
of  which  the  preceding  were  but  emblematical  and  preparatory, 
all  forwarding  t^e  same  great  scheme,  and  the  last  consummat- 
ing it. 


30  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Understanding  the  coming  of  Christ,  spoken  of  in  the  passage 
at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  as  referring  to  Christ's  coming  to  close 
the  present  order  of  things,  and,  amidst  the  commotions  incident 
to  such  a  change,  to  open  a  new  dispensation  of  his  grace  under 
the  Millennial  Empire,  we  will  make  the  second  inquiry  of  our 
motto  the  subject  of  our  present  discussion,  viz. : 

"What  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming?" 

III.  I  therefore  propose  to  point  out  some  of  the  events  that 
shall  precede  or  accompany  the  ushering  in  of  the  Millennium. 
Many  of  these  are  mentioned  or  alluded  to  in  this  same  24th 
chapter  of  Matthew,  and  in  the  parallel  passage  in  Luke. 

1.  The  Millennium  shall  be  preceded  by  terrible  Judgments — 
wars  and  rumors  of  wars — famines,  pestilences,  earthquakes. 
The  "  year  of  the  redeemed  "  has  always  been  a  "  day  of  ven- 
geance" to  the  wicked.  Great  changes  have  usually  been  brought 
about  by  great  commotions.  An  old  order  of  things — old  sys- 
tems are  not  broken  up  and  made  to  give  place  to  others  except 
through  the  storms  of  revolution.  And  the  great  moral  changes 
by  which  God  has  from  time  to  time  advanced  the  work  of  re- 
demption, have  not  been  achieved  except  by  convulsions  which 
have  shaken  terribly  the  earth.  The  deliverance  of  the  right- 
eous has  been  the  signal  for  the  inflicting  of  judgments  on  the 
wicked.  It  was  so  when  God  visited  his  people  in  Egypt.  Pha- 
raoh's kingdom  was  desolated  by  ten  plagues,  and  Pharaoh  and 
his  host  were  overwhelmed  in  the  Red  Sea.  The  settlement  of 
Israel  in  the  land  of  Canaan  was  accompanied  by  the  extermina- 
tion, by  various  signal  judgments,  of  the  original  inhabitants  of 
Canaan.  The  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish  captivity 
was  preceded  by  the  fall  of  the  Assyrian  Empire.  The  bringing 
of  the  Gentiles  into  the  Christian  Church,  in  the  place  of  the  Jews 
who  were  rejected,  was  connected  with  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem under  circumstances  so  awful  as  to  make  it  a  fit  emblem  of 


CHANGES TRIBULATION REVOLUTIONS.  31 

the  judgments  of  the  last  days.  If  these  preHminaiy  changes 
and  advances  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  have  been  accompanied 
hj  the  signal  judgments  of  heaven,  much  more  may  we  expect 
the  yet  greater  change — the  breaking  up  of  the  present  order  of 
things  and  the  introduction  of  a  new  order,  shall  be  brought  about 
amidst  yet  greater  commotions,  and  yet  severer  judgments.  It 
shall  be  a  day  of  great  tribulation  such  as  was  not  since  the  he- 
ginning  of  the  world  to  this  time ;  no,  nor  ever  shall  he.  The 
dreadful  wars,  pestilences,  famines,  earthquakes,  internal  dissen- 
sions, massacres,  and  carnage  that  came  on  the  Jews  at  the 
siege  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans,  stand  as  a 
mere  figure,  type  or  representative  of  those  awful  and  far  more 
extensive  tribulations  which  shall  fall  on  the  enemies  of  God 
when  Christ  shall  come  to  set  up  his  earthly  kingdom. 

When,  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Christ  came  to  take 
out  of  the  way  the  Jewish  State  and  Church  that  he  might  bring 
in  a  more  perfect  dispensation,  his  way  was  heralded  by  judg- 
ments. Nation  rose  against  nation — there  were  wars  and  rumors 
of  wars — famines,  pestilences  and  earthquakes  in  diverse  places. 
The  ushering  in  of  a  new  system  has  always  been  by  thunderings 
and  lightnings — hail  and  fire  mingled  with  blood — on  earth  dis- 
tress of  nations  with  perplexity,  the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring, 
and  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after  those 
things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth;  for  the  powers  of  the 
heavens  shall  be  shaken. 

The  great  movements  of  Providence  are  not  so  much  refor- 
mations as  revolutions — not  a  new  vamping  and  repairing  old  sys- 
tems, but  a  breaking  up  of  the  old  material  and  a  recasting  it. 
The  hammer  of  Revolution — wars,  pestilences  and  famines,  are 
the  terrific  agencies  by  which  the  things  that  have  waxed  old 
and  are  ready  to  perish,  are  broken  to  pieces  and  cast  into  the 


dZ  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

great  crucible  of  the  Almighty  hand  and  recast,  as  it  shall  better 
please  the  great  Architect. 

Among  the  judgments  that  shall  go  before  the  Lord,  as  he 
comes  to  revolutionize  the  world,  to  destroy  the  wicked  and  to  set 
up  his  Kingdom,  is  the  Pestilence.  The  Bible  account  of  the 
Pestilence  is,  that  it  is  a  scourge  inflicted  by  God  on  the  rebellious 
and  disobedient — was  inflicted  on  Israel  when  they  worshipped 
Baal  Peor — when  they  despised  the  manna,  and  made  the  golden 
calf;  inflicted  on  the  subjects  of  David  when  he  numbered  Israel ; 
and  on  the  Egyptians  when  they  oppressed  the  people  of  God. 
It  was  sudden — desolating — fatal — noisome — and  especially  fatal 
in  cities :  a  destroying  angel  stalking  over  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land;  walking  as  the  Pestilence  by  night,  and  as  the  De- 
struction that  wasteth  by  noonday. 

2.  As  somewhat  akin  to  what  has  been  said,  we  find  the  Mil- 
lennium shall  be  preceded  by  extraordinary  civil  revolutions  and 
the  complete  overthrow  of  Despotism.  The  very  beginning  of 
troubles  is  the  great  commotions  which  shall  arise  among  the 
nations  :  "  wars  and  rumors  of  wars" — "  nation  shall  rise  against 
nation  and  kingdom  against  kingdom."  Towards  the  close  of  the 
remarkable  vision  which  was  revealed  to  John,  a  scene  was  pre- 
sented to  him  "  great  and  marvellous,"  he  says :  "  seven  angels 
haying  the  seven  last  plagues,"  the  seven  last  series  of  judgments 
which  should  be  inflicted  on  the  nations ;  "  for  in  them,"  he  says, 
"is  Jilled  up" — completed  or  finished — "the  wrath  of  God." 
The  "  fifth  of  these  vials  of  the  wrath  of  Grod  was  poured  out  upon 
the  seat  of  the  beast ;  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness ;  and 
they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain."  This  is  the  "  scarlet  Beast " 
which  we  find  in  another  place  supporting  the  "  woman  arrayed 
in  purple  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold  and  precious  stones 
and  pearls,  having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand  full  of  abominations 
and  filthiness  of  her  fornication :  and  upon  her  forehead  was  a 


THE    BEAST    WITH    TEN    HORNS.  33 

name  written,  Mystery,  Babylon  the  great,  the  mother 
OF  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth."  This  "  wo- 
man " — this  mystic  Babylon — this  Romish  apostasy,  is  supported 
by  the  Beast — the  civil  power  of  the  Papal  nations.  And  it 
should  be  further  remarked  that  these  Papal  nations,  symbolized 
by  the  Beast,  are  the  ten  kingdoms — the  "  ten  toes  "  of  the  great 
Roman  Image  which  Daniel  saw.  These  ten  European  king- 
doms, into  which  the  Western  Roman  Empire  was  broken  up 
(a  Beast  with  "  ten  horns  "),  still  support  the  great  Harlot,  the 
mystic  Babylon.  The  sure  word  of  prophecy  instructs  us  that 
these  kingdoms  shall  be  thrown  into  hopeless  confusion,  and  come 
to  utter  ruin,  before  the  Son  of  man  comes  to  set  up  his  kingdom. 
Of  these  kingdoms  it  is  said  that  they  "  have  one  mind  and  shall 
give  their  power  and  strength  unto  the  Beast ; "  "  for  God  hath 
put  into  their  hearts  to  fulfil  his  will,  and  to  agree  and  give  their 
kingdoms  unto  the  beast,  until  the  words  of  God  be  fulfilled ; " 
and  then  he  will  put  into  their  hands  the  cup  of  trembling  and 
confusion  and  will  bring  them  to  an  end. 

We  have  in  many  passages  of  the  ancient  Prophets  awful 
descriptions  of  the  civil  commotions  which  shall  shaka  the  earth 
before  the  reign  of  the  saints — be  severely  felt  by  the  ten  king- 
doms, yet  by  no  means  confined  to  them.  All  antichristian  powers 
— all  that  oppose  or  have  opposed  the  advancement  and  pros- 
perity of  the  true  Church,  shall  now  come  up  in  remembrance 
before  God  and  be  made  to  drink  of  the  cup  of  his  wrath.  We 
may  take  as  a  specimen  the  24th  chapter  of  Isaiah :  "  Behold,  the 
Lord  maketh  the  earth  empty,  and  maketh  it  waste,  and  turneth 
it  upside  down,  and  scattereth  abroad  the  inhabitants  thereof. 
The  earth  mourneth,  and  fadeth  away ;  the  world  languisheth,  and 
fadeth  away ;  the  haughty  people  of  the  earth  do  languish.  The 
curse  hath  devoured  the  earth,  and  they  that  dwell  therein  are 

desolate  :  therefore  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  burned  and 
3 


34  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

few  men  left.  The  city  is  left  desolate  and  the  gate  is  smitten 
with  destruction.  Fear,  and  the  pit,  and  the  snare,  are  upon  thee, 
O  inhabitant  of  the  earth.  The  earth  is  utterly  broken  down, 
the  earth  is  clean  dissolved,  the  earth  is  moved  exceedingly ; " 
and  in  like  terms  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  there  is  described  a 
dreadful,  most  inevitable  and  complete  overthrow  of  the  enemies 
of  God.  And  all  this  at  that  identical  time  when  the  Lord  shall 
come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints.  For  it  is  added  here :  "  From 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  we  have  heard  songs,  even  glory 
to  the  righteous."  In  the  midst  of  all  these  commotions  and 
overturnings,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  ye  saints,  and  rejoice,  for  your 
redemption  draweth  near."  It  is  the  Lord  come  to  avenge  him- 
self on  his  foes  and  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints. 

And  in  confirmation  of  this  idea  we  cannot  but  remark,  that 
in  all  these  awful  judgments  on  the  nations,  as  described  in  this 
chapter,  there  is  a  great  multitude  who  so  distinctly  discern  the 
Hand  of  God  in  all  these  overturnings,  and  see  in  them  so  evi- 
dent triumphs  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  that,  as  in  the  song  of 
Miriam,  when  God  had  triumphed  at  the  Red  Sea,  "  They  lift 
up  their  voice,  they  sing  for  the  majesty  of  the  Lord,  they  cry 
aloud.  Wherefore  glorify  ye  the  Lord  in  the  fires,  even  the  name 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  in  the  isles  of  the  sea." 

The  time  when  this  dreadful  commotion  among  the  nations  shall 
be,  is  designated  in  the  last  verse :  "  Then  the  moon  shall  be  con- 
founded, and  the  sun  ashamed,  when  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  reign 
in  mount  Zion,  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  before  his  ancients  glori- 
ously." Nothing  is  more  common  in  prophetic  language  than  to 
represent  any  great  civil  catastrophe,  as  the  overturning  of  king- 
doms or  cities,  or  the  dethroning  of  kings  and  princes,  by  the 
darkening  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  the  fall  of  the  stars,  or  some 
such  terrible  convulsion  in  the  heavens.  Hence,  in  the  awful  de- 
scription we  have  of  the  events  that  are  to  herald  the  near  ap- 


CALAMITIES    THREATENED.  35 

proach  of  the  Millennium,  it  is  said:  "Immediately  after  the 
tribulation  of  those  days  [that  is,  following  on  close  upon  the  ter- 
rible judgments  which  are  to  scorch  the  earth  as  with  fire]  shall 
the  sun  be  dai-kened,"  etc. ;  "  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall 
be  shaken."  Or,  in  the  words  of  another  Evangelist,  "  There 
should  be  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity,  the  sea  and  the 
waves  roaring ;  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking 
after  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth."  All  these  are 
figures  denoting  terrible  calamities.  Waters  denote  peoples.  The 
roaring  of  the  sea  and  the  dashing  of  waves,  denote  awful  tu- 
mults among  the  nations. 

We  have  before  us  here  not  only  a  great  tumult  and  distress 
of  nations,  but  the  total  wreck  of  governments — a  complete  over- 
throw of  the  present  order  of  things — a  destruction  of  all  tyranny 
and  despotism. 

Two  classes  of  nations  are  particularly  designated  as  the  sub- 
jects of  these  civil  commotions,  and  of  final  annihilation  in  their 
present  form.  These  are  the  ten  Papal  kingdoms — the  ten  that 
give  support  to  the  scarlet  Beast,  and  are  thereby  partakers  in  the 
mysteries  of  iniquity  and  the  abominations  of  the  mystic  Babylon ; 
and  all  those  nations  that  have  persecuted  the  Jews:  or,  to  in- 
clude all  in  one  class,  we  should  say,  all  who  have  lifted  their  hand 
against  God's  people,  whether  it  be  his  ancient  covenant  people, 
or  the  people  and  Church  which  he  has  chosen  out  from  among 
the  Gentiles.  It  has  never  been  well  with  a  nation  or  people  that 
have  evil-entreated  the  Church  of  God.  Though  this  Church 
be  for  the  time  in  a  lapsed  condition,  yet  God  charges  the  wicked 
— even  kings,  to  beware  that  they  "touch  not  his  anointed,  and 
do  his  prophets  no  harm."  Hence,  we  need  not  be  surprised  to 
hear  God,  while  speaking  comfortably  to  Israel  and  promising  to 
visit  them  in  kindness  and  to  restore  them  to  their  native  land, 
say,  "  Though  I  make  a  fuU  end  of  all  the  nations  whither  I  have 


S#  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

scattered  thee,  yet  will  I  not  make  a  full  end  of  thee ;  but  I  will 
correct  thee  in  measure,  and  will  not  leave  thee  altogether  un- 
punished." Israel  should  be  chastened  and  reformed ;  the  nations 
that  have  afflicted  him  shall  be  utterly  destroyed. 

3.  Another  sign  of  the  near  approach  of  the  Millennium  is  the 
increase  of  knowledge,  freedom  and  civilization — and  especially  the 
universal  spread  of  the  Gospel.  "  Many  shall  go  to  and  fro,  and 
knowledge  shall  be  increased."  "  The  gospel  must  first  be  pub- 
lished among  all  nations."  Many  have  supposed  that  because  the 
gospel  should  be  preached  to  all  nations,  therefore  all  nations  shall 
be  converted.  This  appears  to  be  a  mistake.  Matthew  states  the 
object  of  this  universal  publication  of  the  gospel.  It  is  not  that 
it  shall  secure  the  conversion  of  all  men,  but  ^for  a  witness  unto 
all  nations."  When  Christ  came  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
the  gospel  had  been  preached  to  all  the  known  world  as  a  witness 
to  them  of  God's  grace  and  of  their  guilt.  And  yet  but  a  small 
number  had  savingly  received  the  gospel.  The  same  gospel  shall 
again  be  preached  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  before  the  com- 
ing of  Christ  to  set  up  his  kingdom,  yet  it  does  not  appear  that 
men  shall  generally  have  embraced  the  gospel.  He  is  to  come 
in  the  midst  of  great  abounding  wickedness,  of  fatal  apostasies. 
When  he  shall  come,  shall  "  he  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?  "  The 
question  implies  that  there  shall  be  a  melancholy  want  of  piety  on 
the  earth  at  that  period.     Hence,  I  may  name — 

4.  Apostasies  and  the  revelation  of  the  3fan  of  Sin,  the  rise  af 
false  teachers  and  fake  prophets  and  false  Christs,Sii  the  next  sign 
of  the  approaching  Millennium.  "  That  day  shall  not  come  ex- 
cept there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  re- 
vealed, the  son  of  perdition."  "  Many  false  prophets  shall  rise 
and  shall  deceive  many."  And  so  subtle  shall  these  false  teachers 
be — so  much  like  the  real  friends  of  Christ — such  signs  and 
wonders  shall  they  show,  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they  would  de- 


SIGNS    OF   THE    MILLENNIUM.  37 

ceive  the  very  elect.  The  Son  of  man  shall  come  as  a  thief  in 
ihe  night.  Few  shall  be  prepared — few  watching.  It  shall  be 
as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noah.  While  men  were  least  suspecting 
it  the  dreadful  day  burst  upon  them.  It  would  seem,  as  we  shall 
see  by  and  by,  that  at  the  coming  of  Christ  to  make  an  end  of 
sin  and  to  establish  righteousness,  he  shall  find  the  world  in  a  state 
of  unusual  confusion,  open  sin  and  unblushing  rebellion.  And  as 
he  came  in  the  days  of  Noah,  to  rescue  the  righteous  from  the 
hands  of  the  wicked  and  to  destroy  an  enemy  already  too  bold 
and  daring  to  be  longer  tolerated,  so  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  man  be.  Iniquity  shall  abound — and  amidst  this  abounding 
wickedness  and  general  corruption  of  public  sentiment  and  the 
public  taste  and  morals,  the  love,  the  allegiance  and  attachment 
of  many  who  profess  godliness,  shall  wax  cold.  In  the  Church 
it  would  seem  there  shall  be  much  lukewarmness  and  apathy, 
yea,  much  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  strife,  and  hatred :  "  Many 
shall  be  offended,  and  shall  betray  one  another,  and  shall  hate  one 
another."  *'  The  brother  shall  betray  the  brother  to  death,  and 
the  father  the  son,  and  children  shall  rise  up  against  their  parents 
and  shall  cause  them  to  be  put  to  death."  And  in  the  world  there 
shall  rise  up  "  scoffers  walking  after  their  own  lusts  and  saying, 
Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  'i  and  they  shall  eat  and  drink 
with  the  drunken." 

That  "  day  shall  not  come  except  there  come  a  falling  away 
first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  who  opposeth  and  exalteth 
himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped : "  in 
other  words,  there  shall  be  a  great  shaking  and  sifting  of  the 
Church,  and  a  great  and  fearful  rallying,  and  a  temporary  triumph 
of  the  wicked. 

0.  Dreadful  persecutions  shall  precede  the  coming  of  the  Mil- 
lennium. "  Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up  to  be  afflicted,  and 
shall  kill  you  ;  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for  my  sake." 


88  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OP   THE   WORLD. 

"  They  shall  lay  their  hands  on  you  and  persecute  you,  delivering 
you  up  to  the  synagogues,  and  into  prisons,  being  brought  before 
kings  and  rulers  for  my  name's  sake." 

The  great  increase  of  religious  knowledge — the  general  prev- 
alence of  truth — the  general  expectation  of  the  approach  of  Chris- 
tianity's triumph  on  the  earth,  and  the  many  promises  of  the  com- 
ing of  this  spiritual  kingdom,  will  no  doubt  do  much  to  provoke 
the  hatred  and  opposition  of  ungodly  men,  and  stir  them  up  to  a 
virulent  persecution. 

There  are  several  other  events  which  are  to  precede  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Millennial  kingdom — events  of  much  greater 
magnitude  than  any  I  have  yet  named,  but  which  I  must  defer 
till  the  next  chapter.  I  refer  to  the  destruction  of  the  Romish 
Beast  or  Papal  Rome ;  the  destruction  of  Mohammedanism ;  the 
downfall  of  the  Dragon  or  the  Eastern  Roman  Empire ;  the  re- 
turn of  the  Jews  and  the  awfully  magnificent  circumstances 
which  shall  accompany  that  event ;  the  drying  up  of  the  great 
river  Euphrates,  or  the  severance  of  the  connection  of  religion 
and  civil  government,  or  of  the  union  of  Church  and  State ;  the 
sealing  of  God's  servants  ;  the  "  slaying  of  the  witnesses,"  and 
the  great  and  final  battle  of  Armageddon.  All  these  things  must 
come  to  pass  before  the  end  of  the  present  dispensation  and  the 
beginning  of  a  better  one.  I  will,  however,  speak  of  one  more 
of  the  events  that  must  precede  this  gracious  reign  of  the  Mes- 
siah. 

6.  It  is  the  sealing  of  the  servants  of  God.  Precisely  what 
this  sealing  is  we  do  not  know.  It  is  represented  as  some 
remarkable  act  or  protest,  or  some  distinctive  and  prominent 
mark,  whereby  the  servants  of  God  should  be  known  in  the 
midst  of  a  wicked  and  perverse  generation.  It  seems  to  have 
reference  to  some  public  and  decided  withdrawment  from  the 
Romish  Church,  and  from  all  those  churches  that  have  an  alliance 


SEALING    OF   THE    SERVANTS    OF    GOD.  09 

with  the  state.  These  sealed  ones  are  described  as  they  who  have 
not  been  defiled  with  women,  for  they  are  pure — they  have  not  been 
guilty  of  the  great  spiritual  adultery  of  which  so  much  is  said  by 
John,  the  Revelator.  The  great  spiritual  Babylon  is  represented 
as  an  Harlot,  gorgeously  arrayed  and  seated  on  a  scarlet  Beast, 
and  all  they  that  have  communion  with  her  as  guilty  of  spurit- 
ual  adultery.  The  sealing  here  spoken  of,  therefore,  has  some 
near  connection  with  the  coming  out  from  the  impurities  and  abomi- 
nations of  the  Romish  communion,  and  from  every  professedly 
Christian  communion  which  has  an  unholy  alliance  with  the  state. 
Forasmuch  as  the  world  hath  for  a  long  time  gone  "  wandering 
after  the  Beast ;  *'  and  "  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the  wine  of 
the  wrath  of  her  fornication,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  have 
committed  fornication  with  her,  and  the  merchants  of  the  earth 
have  waxed  rich  through  the  abundance  of  her  delicacies,  few 
events  will  become  more  prominent  or  attach  to  themselves  more 
importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world,  than  a  separation  from 
those  great  and  corrupt  communions,  which  have  so  long  usurped 
the  place  of  Christ's  Church  on  earth.  Such  a  transaction  shall 
undoubtedly  take  place.  "  I  heard  another  voice  from  heaven 
saying.  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers 
of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues.  For  her 
sins  have  reached  up  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remembered  her 
iniquities."  "  Therefore  shall  her  plagues  come  in  one  day, 
death  and  mourning  and  famine ;  and  she  shall  be  utterly  burned 
with  fire ;  for  strong  is  the  Lord  who  judgeth  her." 

The  separation  from  such  a  communion  shall  be  a  notable 
event — a  marked  event,  and  they  that  separate  themselves  shall 
do  it  in  so  conspicuous  a  manner,  and  shall  so  distinguish  them- 
selves and  their  principles  in  the  act,  that  they  shall  hold  up  be- 
fore the  world  a  token  of  their  decision  as  prominent  as  if  it 
were  written  on  their  foreheads. 


40  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

In  conclusion,  we  are  led  to  raise  the  practical  inquiry,  What 
is  the  duty  of  God's  people  in  the  day  of  general  tribulation  ? 
Many  and  weighty  indeed  are  the  duties  of  God's  people  when  the 
Lord  is  pouring  out  his  wrath  upon  the  earth.  God  is  known  by 
the  judgments  he  executeth.  When  he  speaks  in  his  wrath,  he 
would  have  men  hear — be  humble — watchful — obedient — prayer- 
ful. He  would  have  them  at  such  times  repent  and  turn  to  God. 
When  his  judgments  are  abroad  in  the  earth,  he  would  have  them 
"  learn  righteousness."  Seeing  in  these  fearful  displays  of  God's 
displeasure  against  sin,  the  evil  of  sin  and  God's  awful  purpose  to 
punish  it,  and  having  in  these  exhibitions  of  his  displeasure  some 
fearful  premonition  of  the  coming  wrath,  how  careful  should  it 
make  the  people  of  God  that  they  should  not  provoke  him  to 
more  wrath,  and  to  longer  continuation  of  his  just  indignation 
against  man. 

But  there  are  not  wanting  intimations  that  a  period  shall  pre- 
cede the  Millennium,  so  disastrous — the  judgments  of  heaven 
will  at  length  become  so  heavy — the  persecutions  of  the  wicked 
so  virulent — the  times  so  tempestuous,  that  the  people  of  God 
will  be  obliged  to  flee  before  it.  If  it  shall  not  be  so,  what  means 
such  a  passage  as  this  ?  "  Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy 
chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about  tb^e  fibide  thyself  as  it  were  for 
a  little  moment,  until  the  indignation  be  overpast.  For  behold, 
the  Lord  cometh  out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  for  their  iniquity :  the  earth  also  shall  disclose  her  blood, 
and  shall  no  more  cover  her  slain." 

The  spirit  of  the  martyrs  shall  rise  again.  It  may  yet  cost  a 
man  as  much  to  be  a  Christian  as  it  ever  did  in  the  days  of  the 
crudest,  bloodiest  persecution. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Signs — Destruction  of  the  Papacy  :  of  Islamism — The  Greek  Church — 
Severance  of  Church  and  State — Restoration  of  the  Jews — The  slaying 
the  Witnesses. 

"  What  shall  be  the  signs  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world  ?  " 

I  HAVE  already  named  six  of  the  great  and  prominent  events 
that  shall  precede  the  Millennium  and  be  signs  of  its  approach, 
viz.,  sore  judgments — civil  convulsions — the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge, and  the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel — apostasies  and  the 
rise  of  false  teachers — grievous  persecutions^  and  the  sealing  of  the 
servants  of  God.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  name  six  other  events 
which  shall  be  yet  more  far-reaching  in  their  influence,  and  rev- 
olutionary and  terrible,  than  those  I  have  named. 

But  before  I  proceed  to  point  out  these  signs,  I  shall  make  a 
few  general  remarks  on  the  main  subject  of  our  discussion.  These 
shall  refer  to  the  Scripture  evidence  that  Chi-ist  shall  yet  set  up 
his  kingdom  on  the  earth  and  destroy  his  enemies.  And  1st,  the 
petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer:  "Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven."  This  I  may  call  the 
prayer  of  the  present  dispensation — to  be  used,  no  doubt,  to  the 
very  close  of  it.     If  this  be  so,  and  if  this  present  dispensation 

(41) 


42  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

be  final — be  the  closing  up  of  the  earthly  kingdom  of  Christ,  then 
we  find  ourselves  praying  (as  the  Lord  himself  commanded)  for 
the  coming  of  a  kingdom  which  has  already  come.  But  no  such 
kingdom  as  the  one  here  prayed  for  has  come — a  kingdom  in  which 
God's  will  is  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.  The  present 
Christian  dispensation  is  not  such  a  state.  We  may  therefore 
expect  such  a  condition  of  the  Church — a  time  when  all  shall 
know  the  Lord — all  shall  be  righteous — all  do  the  will  of  God 
on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  Again,  the  parable  of  the  tares 
and  wheat  teaches  the  same  thing.  The  righteous  and  the  wicked 
are  to  exist  together  until  the  end  of  the  world,  as  it  is  in  our 
English  translation,  but  in  the  original,  the  end  of  the  age  or  dis- 
pensation.  Then  the  Son  of  man  will  send  his  angels  (these 
may  be  war,  and  the  pestilence,  fire  and  famine — including  the 
angel  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach)  and  gather  out  of 
his  kingdom  all  things  that  ofiend,  and  all  that  do  iniquity,  and 
shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire,  and  then  shall  the  right' 
eoibs  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Father.  After 
this  present  mixed  condition  of  the  world,  when  God's  will  is  done 
but  imperfectly,  there  shall  follow  a  reign  of  the  righteous.  The 
enemies  of  the  Lord  shall  be  removed,  and  the  dominion  under 
the  whole  heaven  be  given  to  the  saints  of  the  Most  High. 

And  the  parable  in  which  our  Saviour  is  represented  as  a  noble- 
man, going  into  a  far  country  to  receive  a  kingdom  and  to  return, 
conveys  the  same  truth.  Having  received  the  kingdom,  he  takes 
account  of,  receives,  honors  and  rewards  his  servants,  and  pun- 
ishes his  enemies.  "Those  mine  enemies,  which  would  not 
that  I  should  reign  over  them,  bring  hither  and  slay  them  before 
me."  When  he  comes  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  he  comes  to 
be  avenged  on  his  enemies.  He  is  revealed  in  "  flaming  fire,  with 
his  angels'' — which  may  mean  his  judgments.  "  The  wicked  shall 
perish,  and  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  shall  be  as  the  fat  of  lambs. 


THE  Messiah's  kingdom  predicted.  43 

They  shall  consume  ;  into  smoke  shall  they  consume  away."  "  All 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  shall  be  destroyed."  That  is,  as  David 
says,  "  God  will  pour  out  his  wrath  upon  the  heathen  that  have 
not  known  him,  and  upon  the  kingdoms  that  have  not  called  on 
his  name" — upon  all  who  will  not  acknowledge  his  name.  The  2d 
Psalm  seems  written  expressly  to  give  a  prominent  utterance  to  this 
dreadful  idea.  This  Psalm  predicts  the  establishment  of  the  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  over  the  nations  of  the  earth — the  "  heathen"  being 
given  him  for  an  "  inheritance,"  and  the  "  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  a  possession ; "  and  the  centre  of  this  kingdom  shall  be 
mount  Zion.  "  I  have  set  my  king  on  my  holy  hill  of  Zion."  In 
view  of  this,  the  heathen  rage  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing, 
the  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel 
together  against  the  Lord  and  against  his  anointed,  saying, "  Let  us 
break  their  bonds  asunder  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us."  This 
describes  to  the  life  even  the  present  feeling  of  most  of  the  kings 
and  rulers  of  the  earth  against  religious  liberty  and  a  pure  religion. 
And  when  the  light  of  Divine  truth  and  the  progress  of  religious 
liberty  shall  be  such  as  severely  to  rebuke  their  despotism  and  to 
throw  the  reins  of  restraint  on  their  passions,  they  will  break  out  in 
open  hostility.  This  will  bring  on  the  great  conflict.  The  King 
who  is  to  come  and  reign  in  righteousness,  shall  break  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron :  he  shall  da^h  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.  This 
is  a  very  different  thing  from  converting  them,  and  bringing  them 
into  a  willing  subjection.  But  without  pursuing  further  this  strain 
of  remark,  we  may  conclude  that  a  fearful  breaking  up  of  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth,  and  the  complete  destruction  of  the  strongest 
combinations  of  wicked  men  shall  precede  the  establishment  on 
earth  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures  as 
the  reign  of  Christ  a  thousand  years  ;  or  as  the  world  to  come  ; 
or  the  appearing  of  the  Lord ;  the  new  earth  ;  the  Regeneration; 
the  restitution  of  all  things. 


44  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

While  we  earnestly  look  and  pray  for  the  coming  of  such  a 
period,  we  are  moved  to  inquire  when  these  things  shall  be  ?  This 
inquiry  is  answered  by  another,  viz. :  What  shall  be  the  signs  of 
the  near  approach  of  such  a  day  ?  Besides  those  already  pointed 
out,  I  shall  mention  other  events,  which,  as  signs,  shall  precede 
and  open  the  way  to  the  coming  of  the  Millennium.     And, 

7.  The  next  in  order  which  we  shall  name  is  the  destruction 
of  the  Man  of  sin — the  Mystery  of  iniquity — the  spiritual  Baby- 
lon— the  Mother  of  harlots — more  familiarily  known  as  Popery, 
that  great  system,  political  and  ecclesiastical,  which  puts  its  chief 
Bishop,  or  Pope,  in  the  place  of  Christ,  or  whose  presiding,  pro- 
tecting deity  is  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  which  has  put  the  ordinances 
and  traditions  of  men  in  the  place  of  the  living  oracles  of  God. 
This  great  apostasy  was  foretold  by  the  prophets,  especially  by 
Daniel,  and  the  Apostle  John  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  is  often 
referred  to  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  especially  in  his  2d  Epistle 
to  the  Thessalonians.  It  is  spoken  of  as  a  corrupt  Christian 
Church — as  a  great  persecuting  power,  claiming  and  exercising 
an  extensive  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  dominion — whose  period 
of  existence  is  limited  to  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  reach- 
ing down  to  the  commencement  of  the  Millennium,  and  which 
should  be  destroyed  by  the  brightness  of  Christ's  coming. 

Were  we  able  to  fix  precisely  on  the  year  in  which  Popery 
took  its  rise,  we  could  fix  with  the  same  exactness  on  the  year  of  its 
close,  and  consequently  on  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  Millen- 
nium. But  as  Popery  had  many  beginnings,  or  came  to  its  growth 
by  degrees,  so  we  may  expect  its  end  will  be.  One  and  another 
of  its  hydra  heads  shall  be  cut  off  before  its  last  terrific  struggle 
for  life,  and  its  final  death. 

Nothing  seems  to  be  more  clearly  predicted  than  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  power  before  the  establishment  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom  on  the  earth.     Indeed,  as  this  kingdom  of  antichrist   is 


SYMBOL    OF    THE    ROMISH    HIERARCHY.  45 

SO  extensive  and  monopolizing  over  the  whole  world,  it  is  but 
reason  that  Christ  and  antichrist  should  not  reign  at  the  same  time. 
The  one  must  be  put  out  of  the  way  before  the  other  can  be  set  up. 
Daniel  saw  the  Romish  Hierarchy  rise  under  the  symbol  of  the 
little  horn,  having  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  great 
things.  And  Daniel's  attention  was  kept  directed  towards  this 
little  horn  which  he  had  seen  come  up  among  the  ten  horns  or 
kingdoms,  into  which  the  Roman  Empire  had  been  divided,  till 
he  saw  the  end  of  this  persecuting  power :  "  I  beheld  till  the 
thrones  were  cast  down  and  the  Ancient  of  days  did  sit ; "  and 
"  one  like  the  Son  of  man  came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and 
there  was  given  to  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom ;  and 
all  people  and  nations  and  languages  should  serve  him."  But 
mark  well  what  precedes  the  establishment  of  this  kingdom.  The 
Son  of  man  comes — but  a  "  fiery  stream  '*  went  before  him,  and 
he  rode  as  a  mighty  conqueror,  taking  vengeance  on  his  enemies ; 
and  "  I  beheld  then,"  says  Daniel,  "  till  the  beast  was  slain  and  his 
body  destroyed  and  given  to  the  burning  flame."  The  same  little 
horn  made  war  with  the  saints  and  overcame  them;  the  Son  of  man 
then  appears  to  judge  the  beast,  and  to  take  away  his  dominion, 
and  to  destroy  him.  "  And  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the 
gi-eatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given 
to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is 
an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey 
him." 

Paul,  in  his  2d  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  very  distinctly  points 
out  the  Romish  apostasy  as  a  great  usurping,  persecuting  power, 
tliat  should  rise  and  flourish  and  come  to  its  end  between  his  time 
and  the  coming  of  Christ's  earthly  kingdom.  When  this  power 
shall  be  fully  revealed,  the  Lord  shall  consume  it  with  the  spirit  of 
his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  it  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming. 
In  what  way  precisely  we  cannot  tell,  but  in  a  way,  as  I  shall 


46^  THE    COMING    CKISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

hereafter  point  out,  very  extraordinary,  and  with  a  power  the 
most  signal  and  overwhelming,  and  perhaps  miraculous,  the  Lord 
will  render  unto  this  mystic  Babylon  as  she  hath  rendered  to 
others,  and  *'  double  to  her  according  to  her  works ;  in  the  cup 
which  he  hath  filled,  he  will  fill  to  her  double ;  because  her  sins 
have  reached  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remembered  her 
iniquities." 

8.  An  eighth  great  event  which  we  look  for  as  to  happen  be- 
fore the  reign  of  a  thousand  years  shall  commence,  is  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Mohammedan  power.  This  rose  about  the  same  time 
as  the  great  Romish  defection,  and  its  duration  is  limited  to  the 
same  period  as  Romanism,  viz.,  42  months,  or  1260  years.  Pre- 
cisely how  this  great  colossal  system  of  religious  fanaticism  and 
of  political  power  shall  come  to  an  end,  I  do  not  know.  It  has 
been  generally  supposed  that  its  extinction  is  represented  by  the 
drying  up  of  the  Euphrates.  But  I  apprehend  that  is  a  misap- 
prehension of  the  prophecy.  Yet  we  have  reason  to  believe,  as 
nothing  particular  is  said  of  its  end,  that  it  shall  not  come  to  its 
death  by  violence,  but  shall  die  a  natural  death.  It  is  a  great 
power  raised  up  by  the  hand  of  God  to  curb  the  otherwise  un- 
endurable persecutions  of  the  Romish  Beast;  the  persecuting 
Beast  being  dead,  it  will,  likely,  die  away,  its  terrific  mission  be- 
ing finished. 

9.  Prophecy  leads  us  to  expect,  before  the  latter-day  glory  of 
the  Church,  the  reappearance  on  the  great  theatre  of  human  affairs 
of  the  symbohc  dragon  (which  we  understand  to  represent  the 
Eastern  Roman  Empire),  and  the  destruction  of  this  great  power. 
This  is  the  Greek  Church,  having  one  soul  and  spirit  with  the  Ro- 
mish Church,  and  which  is  at  present  embodied  in  the  Russian  Em- 
pire, the  great  Gog  and  Magog  of  the  North.  The  dragon  shall  now 
appear  in  alliance  with  the  Beast  and  the  false  Prophet.  Russia 
shall  now  join  arms  with  the  civil  powers  that  uphold  the  great 


DESTRUCTION    OF   THE    GREEK    CHURCH.  47 

Babylon,  and  with  Babylon  herself,  in  persecuting  the  true  Church. 
After  the  pouring  out  of  the  sixth  vial  on  the  river  Euphrates  and 
the  drying  up  of  its  waters,  "  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  came 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast, 
and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet."  These  are  said  to  be 
the  spirits  of  devils,  working  miracles,  and  going  forth  to  the  kings 
of  the  whole  earth  and  of  the  world,  to  gather  them  to  the  battle 
of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty.  And  when  all  these  united 
antichristian  and  infidel  powers  have  assembled  in  their  wrath  to 
crush  forever  the  hated  powers  of  Truth  and  Light,  the  Messiah, 
the  King  and  Conqueror,  shall  suddenly  appear  and  avenge  his 
elect,  and  execute  his  wrath  on  his  enemies. 

This  mad  rallying  of  so  fearful  a  coalition  of  the  great  powers 
of  antichrist  and  of  sin  against  evangelical  Christianity,  is  to  be 
a  consequence  of  the  great  event  symbolized  by  the  drying  up  of 
the  great  river  Euphrates.  And  if  this  be  intended  to  represent, 
as  has  generally  been  supposed,  the  extinction  of  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire and  of  Mohammedanism,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  this  event 
should  produce  such  a  panic  among  the  aliens,  and  drive  to  such 
a  frenzy  the  Beast,  the  Dragon,  and  the  false  Prophet,  i.  e.  the 
Romish  Hierarchy,  and  the  civil  states  that  support  this  Hierar- 
chy, the  empire  of  Russia,  or  the  representative  of  the  Greek 
Church,  and  the  decaying  interests  of  Islam.  But  if  we  take  it 
to  represent,  as  I  suppose  it  does,  the  alienation  and  withdraw- 
ment  of  Christian  men  from  State  Churches — a  coming  out  from 
Babylon,  and  leaving  her  to  her  own  fate — an  abandoning  State 
religions  for  the  religion  of  Christ,  we  shall  see  cause  for  this 
panic. 

10.  Another  precursor  of  the  Millennium,  therefore,  is  the 
severance  of  Church  and  State.  This  unholy  and  unhappy  alliance 
— a  union  of  temporal  and  spmtual  power — which  has  been  a 
chief  cause  of  the  corruption  of  the  Church  and  of  the  miseries 


48  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

that  have  followed,  shall  be  dissolved.  As  the  spirit  of  liberty- 
shall  work,  and  men  shall  disenthrall  themselves  from  this  yoke, 
the  despotic  powers,  both  in  the  Church  and  in  the  State,  will  com- 
bine to  suppress  this  rising  spirit  of  liberty,  and  thus  hasten 
on  the  great  conflict,  called  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God 
Almighty. 

11.  The  return  to  their  native  land  of  the  Jews,  is  another  event 
which  must  precede  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  to  set  up  the  Mil- 
lennial kingdom.  It  must  here  be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  the 
original  grant  of  Canaan  to  Israel — in  the  covenant  made  with 
Abraham — the  land  was  given  to  the  promised  seed  for  an  ever- 
lasting possession,  i.  e.  as  long  as  the  world  stands.  Though 
for  a  time  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise  is  suspended  on  account 
of  Israel's  sins,  yet  the  promise  is  not  annulled.  Israel  shall  yet 
be  more  glorious  in  the  promised  land  than  he  ever  yet  has  been. 
The  promise  is  unconditional.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  When 
I  shall  have  gathered  the  house  of  Israel  from  the  people  among 
whom  they  are  scattered,  1  shall  be  sanctified  in  them  in  the  sight 
of  the  heathen,  then  shall  they  dwell  in  their  land  that  I  have 
given  to  my  servant  Jacob.     And  they  shall  dwell  safely  therein." 

I  shall  not  multiply  quotations  to  prove  the  fact  of  the  return 
of  the  Jews  to  Palestine,  No  fact  seems  more  abundantly  estab- 
lished. They  shall  return  before  the  Millennium,  and  their  res- 
toration and  conversion  to  Christianity  shall  be  so  important  and 
efficient  means  of  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  Christ  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  that  it  said  to  be  as 
"  ^l/*^  from  the  deadJ* 

A  few  quotations  here,  showing  the  position  of  the  Jewish 
Church  and  nation  in  the  renovated  kingdom,  will  neither  appear 
out  of  place  nor  void  of  interest.  They  will  show,  too,  by  impli- 
cation, that  that  kingdom  shall  not  come  till  there  shall  be  a 
gathering  together  of  God's  ancient  covenant  people.     They  shall 


JEWISH    CHURCH    AND    NATION.  49 

constitute  an  important  part  of  that  kingdom.  A  cloud  has  come 
over  the  Jews  for  a  time.  Now  is  the  times  of  the  Gentiles.  God 
is  now  visiting  the  Gentiles  to  take  out  a  people  for  his  name,  and 
then,  he  says,  he  will  return  and  huild  up  the  tabernacle  of  David, 
which  is  thrown  down.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  If  heaven  above 
can  be  measured  and  the  foundation  of  the  earth  searched  out 
beneath,  I  will  also  cast  off  the  seed  of  Israel,  for  all  they  have 
done,  saith  the  Lord."  "  For,  as  the  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth  which  I  will  make  shall  remain  before  me,  so  shall  your  seed 
and  your  name  remain."  "  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  per- 
form this."  In  the  kingdom  of  which  we  speak,  Jerusalem  is  again 
to  become  an  important  spot,  and  Judea  a  land  of  renown,  and  the 
people  of  Israel  a  beloved  and  honored  people.  And  we  shall 
see  by  and  by  that  their  return  is  intimately  connected  with  scenes 
of  the  deepest  interest  which  shall  take  place  before  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah's  kingdom. 

Did  our  limits  permit  we  might  speak  of  other  events,  and  so- 
cial and  moral  conditions,  which  shall  precede  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  man ;  such  as  the  stupidity  and  listlessness  of  the  wicked 
— the  want  of  reverence,  of  loyalty,  of  respect  for  authority;  to- 
gether with  the  purification  of  the  Church  from  intemperance  and 
various  other  forms  of  evil ;  and  lastly,  but  not  the  least,  the  ex- 
tensive revivals  of  religion  which  so  delightfully  characterize  the 
present  period.  All  these  things  indicate,  no  less  than  those 
before  named,  that  a  great  revolution  is  at  hand  ;  and  admonish 
us  to  watch  and  to  wait  the  speedy  coming  of  our  ascended  Lord. 
We  pass  these  to  notice  but  one  other  of  the  predicted  signs  which 
shall  precede  the  great  day  of  the  Lord. 

12.  The  only  other  events  which  I  shall  name,  are,  the  "  slay- 
ing of  the  witnesses^'  and  the  final  great  battle  of  Gog  and  Ma- 
gog— the  "  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty."  But  these 
two  particulars,  or  rather  this  twofold  particular  (for  they  seem  to 
4 


50  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

be  intimately  connected),  involves  too  many  things  to  be  disposed 
of  in  a  summary  manner. 

We  merely  affirm  that  these  things — this  overthrow — must 
come  to  pass  before  the  Son  of  man  come  to  set  up  his  kingdom 
on  the  earth.  It  shall  be  a  dreadful  rebuff  and  a  seeming  over- 
throw of  the  Church,  an  awful  precursor  of  the  full  dawn  of  the 
Millennial  Morn. 

It  may  relieve  the  minds  of  some  if  I  say  another  word  here, 
before  I  close,  on  the  term,  the  coming  of  Ohrist.  I  have  already 
used  the  term,  and  shall  hereafter  use  it,  as  implying  a  personal 
coming.  I  would  therefore  here  say,  that,  though  I  do  not  see 
good  evidence  for  the  belief  that  Christ  will  continue  a  personal 
reign  on  the  earth,  as  King  of  Jerusalem  and  Prince  and  Potentate 
of  the  whole  earth,  yet  I  find  myself  quite  unable  to  dispose  of 
a  great  variety  of  very  prominent  passages  of  Scripture,  without 
believing  that  Christ  will  at  least  appear  personally  at  the  last 
great  battle,  and  personally  vindicate  his  cause  and  take  the  most 
signal  vengeance  on  his  enemies  at  a  time  when,  in  dreadful  and 
most  formidable  confederacy,  they  shall  be  gathered  together 
against  him  ;  and  that  he  will  personally  commence  his  reign  in 
Jerusalem.  How  else  can  we  understand  the  14th  chapter  of 
Zechariah,  especially  the  following  passages  ?  "  Behold,  the  day 
of  the  Lord  cometh,  and  the  spoil  shall  be  divided  in  the  midst 
of  thee.  For  I  will  gather  all  nations  together  against  Jerusa- 
lem to  battle ;  and  the  city  shall  be  taken,  and  the  houses  rifled, 
and  the  women  ravished ;  and  half  of  the  city  shall  go  forth  in 
captivity,  and  the  residue  shall  not  be  cut  off  from  the  city.  Then 
shall  the  Lord  go  forth  and  fight  against  those  nations,  as  when 
he  fought  in  the  day  of  battle.  And  his  feet  shall  stand  in  that 
day  on  the  mount  of  Olives^  which  is  before  Jerusalem  on  the 
east ;  and  the  mount  of  Olives  shall  cleave  in  the  midst  thereof 
toward  the  east  and  toward  the  west,  and  there  shall  be  a  very 


JERUSALEM   THE    GREAT    CAPITAL.  51 

great  valley  :  and  half  of  the  mountain  shall  remove  toward  the 
north,  and  half  toward  the  south."  — "  And  the  Lord  my  God 
shall  come,  and  all  the  saints  with  thee."  "  And  the  Lord  shall 
be  King  over  all  the  earth.  In  that  day  shall  there  be  one  Lord, 
and  his  name  one." 

It  is  further  declared  that,  after  the  great  conflict  shall  have 
passed,  and  the  King  shall  establish  his  throne  in  Jerusalem,  the 
people  of  all  nations  shall  "  even  go  up  from  year  to  year  to  wor- 
ship the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  to  keep  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles." "Ajnd  it  shall  be,  that  whoso  will  not  come  up  of 
all  the  families  of.  the  earth  unto  Jerusalem  to  worship  the  King, 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  even  upon  them  shall  be  no  rain." 

Christ  was  born  King  of  the  Jews — he  died  as  King  of  the 
Jews.  When  reproached  as  a  usurper  of  the  throne  of  David, 
he  did  not  deny  the  charge.  It  is  diflficult  for  any  plain  reader 
of  the  declarations  above  quoted,  to  understand  less  than  that 
Christ,  when  he  shall  set  up  his  Millennial  kingdom,  shall  make 
Jerusalem,  in  some  special  sense,  the  centre  of  his  great  spiritual 
empire.  The  Temple  at  Jerusalem  shall  be,  as  it  were,  the  palace 
of  the  great  King,  where  shall  be  seen  his  glory,  and  where  shall 
be  his  more  especial  presence,  and  whither,  representatively  at 
least,  all  people,  and  tribes,  and  nations  shall  go  up  to  worship, 
and  keep  the  "  feast  of  tabernacles."  * 

Christ's  triumphal  entrance  into  Jerusalem,  riding  on  the  colt 
of  an  ass,  may  be  taken  as  an  emblem  of  his  future  entrance  as 

*  The  feast  of  tabernacles  was  the  great  thanksgiving  occasion  of  the  Jewish  economy 
— observed  at  the  close  of  harrest,  and  hence  often  called  the  feast  of  ingathering.  It 
was  observed  in  commemoration  of  the  wanderings  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  when  they 
dwelt  in  tents  or  tabernacles.  This  occasion,  when  evangelized  and  observed  in  the  golden 
age  of  the  Millennium,  will  commemorate  the  now  present  wilderness  state  of  th«  Chris- 
tian Church  (Rev.  xii.  6),  and,  as  such,  there  will  be  great  beauty  and  propriety  in  its 
observance  during  that  long  and  happy  period.  It  shall  commemorate  that  great  in- 
gathering into  the  new  Jerusalem  which  shall  then  be  come  down  from  heaven. 


52  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

King.     If  it  were  not  on  the  occasion  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles, 
yet  it  had  a  striking  allusion  to  that  feast. 

Finally,  we  cannot  be  too  solemnly  impressed  with  the  great 
things  which  God  is  doing  in  our  world.  Undoubtedly,  all  things 
are  hastening  to  a  grand  and  awful  crisis.  All  things  seem  to  say, 
"  Be  ye  also  ready ;  watch  unto  prayer,  for  ye  know  not  in  what 
hour  the  Son  of  man  cometh." 


CHAPTER  V. 

These  Signs  verified  in  our  age — Its  characteristics  :  judgments — Civil  com- 
motions— Wars— Spread  of  the  Gospel — Apostasies— The  Man  of  Sin. 

"  When  ye  shall  see  all  these  things,  know  that  it  is  near."— Mi«.  xxiv.  33. 

Having  pointed  out  what  are  the  signs — what  the  events  and 
conditions  of  the  world  and  of  human  affairs — which  shall  precede 
the  coming  of  the  Millennium,  I  pass  to  our  next  general  topic, 
viz.,  that  the  characteristics  of  the  present  age  answer  to  the  signs 
already  named.     Our  inquiry,  therefore,  now  becomes  : 

IV.  Are  there  special  indications  at  the  present  time  of  the 
near  approach  of  the  Millennium  ? 

"We  can  return  a  satisfactory  answer  to  this  inquiry  only  by  re- 
tracing our  steps — though  not  exactly  in  the  same  order — and 
examining,  as  to  each  particular  mentioned,  whether  present  ap- 
pearances justify  any  such  expectation. 

1.  Divine  judgments — wars,  famines,  pestilences,  earthquakes 
in  diverse  places — do  we  find  these  so  to  characterize  our  times 
as  to  give  sign  that  they  are  the  predicted  precursors  of  the  Mil- 
lennium ?  I  think  we  do.  We  have  wars,  but  more  rumors  of 
wars.  So  inflammable  is  the  present  state  of  the  nations  that  but 
a  spark  would  set  them  all  in  a  blaze. 

(53> 


54  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

We  retain  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  terrible  upheavings  of 
Europe  by  the  devastating  hand  of  war  in  1848.  And  we  shall 
not  soon  forget  the  wholesale  carnage  in  the  Crimea  and  about 
the  walls  of  Sebastopol.  And  yet  more  recently  have  we  been 
horrified  at  the  unheard-of  atrocities  and  butcheries  of  the  late 
Sepoy  war.  And  now  again  is  the  blast  of  the  war-trumpet 
heard  in  the  Italian  war,  and  all  Europe  seemed  about  to  rush  to 
the  battle.  Nation  may  any  day  be  dashed  against  nation,  and 
the  great  decisive  battle  be  but  a  step  before  us.  The  present 
position  of  the  nations  of  Europe ;  the  state  of  imtation  which 
exists ;  the  formidable  preparations  which  have  been  made  and 
are  still  making,  and  above  all  the  necessity  there  seems  to  be  for 
an  extensive,  exterminating  war,  to  remove  out  of  the  way  some 
of  the  most  formidable  obstacles  to  the  final  and  universal  estab- 
lishment of  Immanuel's  kingdom,  all  prognosticate  the  approach 
of  carnage  and  desolation,  such  as  the  world  has  not  before  seen. 
It  may  be  delayed,  but  shall  not  fail  till  its  dread  mission  be  ful- 
filled. 

And  the  first  half  of  the  present  century  has  been  signalized, 
too,  by  the  prevalence  of  a  pestilence  of  a  most  malignant  char- 
acter ;  almost  unknown  in  the  world  till  within  the  last  fifty  years. 
And  here  it  will  be  not  out  of  place,  nor  void  of  interest,  I  trust, 
to  glance  for  a  few  moments  at  the  strange  history  of  the  pesti- 
lence which  has  but  so  recently  visited  our  land,  in  its  devastating 
progress  round  the  world.  In  its  singular  history  we  shall  recog- 
nize the  'pestilence  that  goeth  before  Him,  who  is  about  to  wrest 
from  the  usurper  the  empire  of  this  world  and  to  establish  his 
kingdom  on  its  ruins :  and  on  this  account  it  deserves  some  par- 
ticular attention  in  this  connection.  I  speak  of  the  Asiatic  cholera, 
which,  as  a  matter  of  recent  history  and  of  Heaven's  judgments 
on  men,  should  not  be  allowed  to  pass  out  of  mind. 

With  a  single  exception,  the  cholera  seems  to  have  been,un- 


FIRST    APPEARANCE    OF   THE    CHOLERA.  55 

known  in  the  world  till  1817.  But  this  exception  was  a  terrible 
one,  such  as  dreadfully  to  indicate  what  a  fearful  instrument  of 
destruction  this  angel  of  death  was  now  commissioned  to  wield.  It 
was  in  1782-3,  while  a  noble  struggle  was  making  in  North  Amer- 
ica to  establish  liberty  on  some  permanent  foundation,  and  thereby 
contribute  much  to  hasten  the  day  of  the  world's  Millennium — it 
was  while  all  things  were  preparing  in  Murope  for  one  of  those 
civil  convulsions  which  precede  some  real  civil  and  moral  advance- 
ment— it  was  while  the  English  in  Ijadia  were  in  the  zenith  of 
their  glory,  adding  province  to  province  in  their  already  stupendous 
empire,  consolidating  there  a  power  which  is  very  justly  the  won- 
der of  the  world,  and  a  stupendous  scheme  of  Providence  for  the 
elevation  and  renovation  of  the  degraded  nations  of  the  East — ^it 
was,  I  say,  in  1782-3,  that  another  angel  came  out  of  the  Temple, 
having  one  of  the  seven  last  plagues.  This  was  one  of  those  ter- 
rific agencies  which  the  conqueror  on  the  white  horse  would  em- 
ploy to  subjugate  the  world  to  himself.  This  angel  appeared — 
not  now  finally  to  fulfil  his  dread  mission,  but  to  indicate  his  power 
— and  having  spread  his  wings  upon  the  blast  and  dropped  thick 
about  him  the  spoils  of  death,  he  disappeared  for  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury. 

His  appearance  was  on  this  wise :  A  body  of  6000  troops, 
stationed  at  Ganjam  in  India,  was  suddenly  attacked  with  a  new 
disease  of  such  incredible  malignity  that  men  in  perfect  health 
dropped  down  dead  by  dozens.  Besides  those  who  were  thus 
smitten  instantaneously,  500  sickened  in  one  day,  and  for  the  most 
part  died  in  the  space  of  an  hour.  The  next  day  the  distemper 
still  raged  with  unabated  fury,  and  on  the  third  day  more  than 
half  the  army  had  either  perished  or  were  in  the  hospital.  The 
next  year  (1783)  the  army,  under  Sir  John  Burgoyne,  was  at- 
tacked, and  1000  perished  within  a  month,  some  not  surviving 
the  attack  more  than  an  hour.     The  year  after  the  same  strange 


66  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

malady  broke  out  among  the  pilgrims  at  Hurdwar,  and  slew  20,000. 
After  some  such  dreadful  displays  of  power  and  malignity,  this 
destroying  angel  took  his  flight  and  left  the  earth  for  thirty-four 
years. 

In  1817  the  cholera  reappeared  in  Bengal  with  extraordinary 
malignity.  It  now  appeared  no  longer  local,  but  migratory ;  for, 
in  a  few  weeks,  it  had  ravaged  every  town  and  village  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Ganges  up  to  its  confluence  with  the  Jumna. 

From  this  central  district  the  Pestilence  went  forth  by  three 
general  routes  on  its  mission  of  death  around  the  world.  To  the 
south-west  its  track  was  marked  with  anguish  and  death  in  the 
direction  of  Madras  and  Ceylon ;  to  the  south-east,  along  the  op- 
posite coast  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  to  Arracan  and  the  Malays ;  and 
by  a  western  route  it  traversed  the  whole  peninsula  of  Hindostan, 
overtaking  in  its  course  the  British  army,  and  cutting  down  9000 
in  the  course  of  a  week ;  it  traveled  towards  Europe  by  the  way 
of  the  Persian  gulf;  10,000  perished  in  Muscat — 18,000  in  Bas- 
sora  (one-third  of  its  population)  died  in  eleven  days.  It  passed 
along  the  Tigris  to  Aleppo,  and  along  the  Euphrates  to  Erzeroum 
in  Armenia ;  and  thence  it  came  to  the  confines  of  Europe,  where 
it  strangely  paused  from  1823  to  1829.  In  1830  we  find  the 
pestilence  ascending  the  Volga,  where  in  one  month  it  numbers 
2367  victims,  and  rapidly  approaching  Moscow.  In  1831,  it  is 
found  threading  all  the  chief  European  rivers,  and  visiting  every 
principal  city  from  the  Danube  to  the  Atlantic.  In  the  autumn 
of  this  year  (October)  the  infection  had  passed  from  Hamburg  to 
Sunderland  in  England,  breaking  out  nearly  at  the  same  time  in 
London.  In  four  months  it  had  reached  Edinburgh  in  Scotland, 
and  but  a  few  weeks  later  it  appeared  in  Dublin,  Ireland.  From 
England  the  epidemic  seemed  to  pass  into  France  and  Spain,  and 
thence  to  Quebec  and  New  York,  where  it  made  its  appearance 


PROGRESS    OP   THE    PESTILENCE.  57 

in  Jane,  1832.  In  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  30,000  fell  victims* 
to  the  scourge  ;  in  Paris  alone,  18,000. 

These  are  the  main  streams  through  which  this  virus  of  death, 
in  its  first  circuit,  rolled  over  the  whole  earth.  Were  I  to  return, 
I  might  show  how  these  several  rivers  of  death  sent  out  their 
lateral  branches,  till,  in  their  fatal  course,  they  scarce  left  a  nation 
untouched,  by  some  reverted  stream.  By  some  reflex  current, 
Spain,  Portugal  and  France,  Piedmont,  Genoa  and  Florence 
were  reached  from  England ;  Egypt  and  Arabia  from  Persia ; 
and  Constantinople  from  the  great  Western  stream.  At  Mecca 
20,000  died  in  four  days,  and  in  Cairo  the  mortality  became  so 
great  that  the  sick  went  without  care  and  the  dead  without  burial. 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  brief  outline,  that  it  is  not  true  that  this 
scourge  only  travels  westward.  In  its  eastern  route  through  Ar- 
racan  and  Malacca,  we  find  it  traversing  the  islands  of  the  Indian 
Archipelago,  extending  its  ravages  into  China,  and  passing  the 
Great  Wall  and  pervading  many  parts  of  Mongolia. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  a  writer  in  the  London  Times,  who 
has  been  at  some  pains  to  trace  the  ravages  of  this  destroyer,  that 
it  was  twenty  years  from  its  first  outbreak  in  Bengal  before  it  had 
completed  the  circuit  of  the  globe.  Two  years  it  took  to  over- 
run India  ;  two,  to  pass  through  Persia  to  the  Caspian  Sea ;  and 
two,  to  spread  through  Europe  to  Great  Britain.  During  two 
years  it  paused  in  its  career  on  the  boundaries  of  Hindostan ;  and 
during  six  years  it  halted  on  the  verge  of  Europe.  And  the  last 
reflex  current,  which  invaded  the  southern  peninsulas  of  Europe, 
did  not  reach  its  destination  till  1836-7.  Gibraltar  was  not  at- 
tacked till  1834 — Piedmont,  Genoa,  and  Florence  in  1835 — 
Naples  in  1836 — and  Rome  in  1837  ;  or  twenty  years  from  the 
first  outbreak  in  Bengal. 

I  need  only  remark  that  the  pestilence  which  more  recently 
passed  over  our  land,  pursued,  with  very  little  deviation,  the  track 


58  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

'  of  its  predecessors,  traveling  however  more  rapidly  and  committing 
fiercer  ravages.  "  Many  cities,"  observes  the  same  writer,  "  as 
for  instance,  St.  Petersburg  and  Berlin,  were  attacked  at  the  same 
season,  and  even  in  the  same  month,  as  in  1830.  The  same  streets, 
nay,  the  same  houses,  that  suffered  most  severely  before,  have  suf- 
fered the  most  severely  now" — and  towns  which  escaped  then, 
were  passed  by  in  the  late  visitation. 

There  is  much,  I  think,  in  the  history  of  this  form  of  pestilence, 
to  indicate  that  it  was  one  of  those  Divine  judgments  which  should 
precede  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man — when  he  shall  come  to  be 
avenged  on  his  enemies  and  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints.  It  is  gov- 
erned by  no  laws  which  we  can  discover — is  confined  to  no  class 
of  men — ^and  is  peculiar  to  no  circumstances  in  life.  But,  in  what 
to  us  seems  its  arbitrary  character  and  its  fitful  independence,  we 
discover  unmistakable  marks  that  it  is  a  special  agent  of  God 
by  which  to  inflict  his  last  judgments  on  the  earth. 

Thousands  of  families  in  our  land  were,  in  a  moment  the  most 
unexpected,  clothed  in  sackcloth — tens  of  thousands  of  our  citi- 
zens, of  all  ages  and  conditions  of  life,  were,  in  awful  suddenness, 
snatched  away ;  all  their  fond  relationships  in  time  broken  up ; 
their  friends  left  in  bitterness  to  mourn,  and  they  hurried  away 
to  the  judgment-seat.  In  some  instances  whole  families  were  cut 
off  in  the  course  of  a  few  days :  in  one  instance  a  family  of  eleven 
persons.  In  the  small  city  of  St.  Louis,  the  mortality  rose  to  one 
hundred  a  day — and  in  Cincinnati  its  ravages  were  scarcely  less. 
In  New  York,  1400  were  borne  to  the  grave  in  a  single  week. 
Who  was  not  shocked  at  the  appalling  facts  which  reached  us  from 
Sandusky  City  ?  One  writing  from  that  infected  place  and  amidst 
the  victims  of  the  devouring  scourge,  says : 

"  The  condition  of  this  city,  at  the  present  time,  is  most  fear- 
ful and  heart-rending,  from  the  effects  of  the  cholera.  For  some 
days  past,  the  epidemic  has  been  making  rapid  strides,  and  it  has 


RAVAGES    OF    CHOLERA.  59 

now  reached  a  crisis  which  threatens  to  involve  tho  most  awful 
consequences.  Of  a  population  of  3000,  there  are  not  more  than 
700  remaining.  The  deaths  for  the  last  two  days  amount  to 
about  100,  and  are  still  on  the  increase. 

"  Most  of  the  inhabitants  who  have  escaped  the  dreadful  mal- 
ady have  left  the  city  in  dismay.  Business  of  every  description 
is  entirely  suspended,  and  the  various  hotels,  together  with  the 
post-office  and  the  public  stores,  are  all  closed.  Many  of  our 
physicians  have  fallen  victims  to  the  disease,  and  those  who  have 
escaped  its  ravages,  have  precipitately  fled  from  the  region  of 
death.  The  sick  are  sujQfering  in  a  dreadful  manner  for  the  want 
of  medical  aid  and  assistance. 

"  The  living  are  not  only  unable  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  the 
sick,  but  cannot  bury  their  dead.  There  are  none  to  be  found  to 
dig  graves  or  make  coffins.  The  markets  are  entirely  deserted, 
and  the  few  inhabitants  remaining  are  under  the  necessity  of  send- 
ing to  Cleveland,  and  other  ports  on  the  Lake,  for  provisions  and 
medical  assistance." 

Like  the  plague  or  pestilence  described  in  the  Bible,  the  cholera 
broke  in  upon  the  people  suddenly — made  its  dreadful  invasion 
at  "  midnight" — ^gave  signs  of  being  inflicted  by  God  for  the  sins 
of  the  people — and  everywhere  strangely  extinguished  the  com- 
mon sympathies  of  humanity.  Friends,  absent,  dead,  dying,  or 
watching  over  those  who  are  dying,  are  compelled  to  leave  their 
dead  to  persons  hired  to  clear  them  away  as  a  nuisance  to  the 
living.  This  desolating,  hardening  effect  of  the  cholera,  quite 
identifies  it  with  the  prophetic  descriptions  of  the  Pestilence  that 
should  precede  the  coming  of  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the 
Lord. 

2.  I  said  political  revolutions — convulsions  among  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth,  are  to  be  looked  for  as  precursors  of  the  Mil- 
lennium.    Is  there  any  thing  in  the  present  political  state  of  the 


60  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

world  that  verifies  this  sign  ?  The  fifth  angel  poured  out  Ms  vial 
on  the  seat  of  the  Beast ;  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness  ; 
and  they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain. 

This  we  have  interpreted  of  the  papal  nations — especially  of 
the  "  ten  kingdoms,"  which  "  give  their  power  to  the  Beast" — 
which  sustain  the  spiritual  Babylon  by  their  civil  authority.  Be- 
fore Christ  shall  set  up  his  kingdom,  we  have  seen,  these  nations 
shall  be  thrown  into  hopeless  confusion ;  and,  inasmuch  as  their 
civil  despotism  is  so  identified  with  the  spiritual  despotism  of 
Rome,  that  the  two  must  perish  together. 

Do  we  at  the  present  time  discover  in  the  condition  of  Euro- 
pean nations  any  thing  like  the  confusion,  perplexity  and  dark- 
ness represented  by  the  pouring  out  of  the  fifth  vial  ?  Do  we 
find  kings  dethroned,  dynasties  dissolved,  governments  thrown  into 
disorder,  and  a  general  distrust  and  uncertainty  pervading  all  the 
affairs  of  those  nations  ?  We  are  all  too  well  acquainted  with 
the  revolutions  and  civil  convulsions  of  1848,  to  need  any  details 
here,  as  a  matter  of  history.  But  there  were  certain  features  in 
these  revolutions  which  go  very  far  to  identify  them  as  the  events 
which  are  foretold  shall  immediately  precede  the  reign  of  a  thou- 
sand years. 

The  fifth  vial  was  poured  out  upon  the  seat,  or  the  throne  of 
the  Beast;  and  the  effect  should  be,  that  his  kingdom  should  he  filed 
with  darkness :  i.  e.  the  judgments  should  fall  on  the  ruling  pow- 
ers, and  as  a  consequence,  they  should  be  thrown  into  a  strange 
confusion  and  perplexity,  and  that  both  rulers  and  people  should 
act  like  men  blindfolded,  or  like  persons  groping  their  way  in  the 
dark.  Nothing  could  more  accurately  describe  the  present  con- 
dition of  Europe.  If  we  were  to  describe  the  condition  of  Eu- 
rope as  the  result  of  her  late  revolutions,  in  a  single  word,  we 
should  say  it  was  one  grand  disappointment,  I  do  not  know  a 
single  result  that  proved  in  the  end  to  be  what  was  expected. 


REVOLUTIONS    OP    1848    DISAPPOINTMENTS.  61 

The  most  profound  skill  and  the  most  undoubted  bravery  came 
as  near  accomplishing  the  objects  aimed  at  as  men  blindfolded 
would  accomplish  their  objects.  France,  with  some  noble  spirits 
to  lead  in  her  affairs,  annihilated  the  monarchy  of  Louis  Phillippe 
and  established  a  republic.  And  yet  there  was  in  the  form  of 
government  adopted  less  of  republicanism  than  there  was  either 
of  monarchy,  despotism,  or  anarchy.  France  realized  nothing- 
she  sought  and  fought  for ;  neither  did  any  other  nation  of  Eu- 
rope. But  what  is  more  remarkable,  they  rather  realized  the 
very  opposite  of  what  they  sought.  I  may  here  quote  a  para- 
graph from  a  writer  of  the  time,  containing  some  exceedmgly  just 
remarks,  which  will  put  this  topic  in  a  more  correct  light  than  I 
should  be  able  to  do  otherwise  : 

"  The  new  government,  in  place  of  securing  to  the  people  the 
liberty  which  they  anticipated,  is  in  many  respects  more  tyranni- 
cal than  the  monarchy  they  overthrew.  Instead  of  yielding  oc- 
cupation and  abundance  to  the  laborers  of  Paris,  the  French 
Revolution  deprived  them  of  employment  and  reduced  them  to 
beggary  and  starvation.  Many  of  the  men  who  were  chiefly  in- 
strumental in  establishing  the  republic,  instead  of  obtaining  the 
political  station  and  enjoying  the  influence  which  they  expected, 
have  sunk  into  neglect  or  been  driven  into  exile.  The  new  ad- 
ministration, instead  of  favoring  the  liberty  of  other  nations,  has 
overthrown  the  Republic  of  Rome,  and  attempted  to  reinvest  the 
Pope  with  the  worst  species  of  despotic  power.  The  King  of 
Belgium,  who  was  ready  to  abdicate  had  his  people  desired  it, 
holds  his  sceptre  with  a  surer  grasp  than  any  other  monarch  in 
Germany.  The  Austrian  Government,  which  appeared  less  likely 
to  feel  the  shock  of  revolution,  has  been  in  greater  danger  than 
any  other  of  subversion.  Prince  Metternich,  who  was  thought 
to  be  more  thoroughly  master  ot  the  art  of  despotic  rule,  and 
more  likely  than  any  other  minister  to  maintain  his  position,  was 


62  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OP   THE   WORLD. 

the  most  easily  baffled,  and  the  most  thoroughly  divested  of  pow- 
er. The  Pope,  who  from  his  pretensions  to  the  vicegerency  of 
God  and  infallibility,  it  might  have  been  expected,  would  be  the 
most  reluctant  to  quit  his  station,  and  if  overwhelmed,  fall  with  a 
degree  of  statehness,  was  more  easily  induced  than  any  prince 
to  abandon  his  throne,  and  in  a  form  the  most  undignified  and 
abject.  The  population  of  Rome,  which  seemed  less  capable 
than  any  other  of  self-government,  and  less  likely  to  offer  a  brave 
and  effective  resistance  to  a  foreign  foe,  has  conducted  itself  in  a 
more  orderly  manner,  displayed  a  nobler  patriotism,  and  made  a 
bolder  and  a  more  strenuous  struggle  for  the  defense  of  its  lib- 
erties, than  the  people  of  any  other  capital  that  has  been  the 
scene  of  revolution.  The  Austrian  monarchy,  which  has  ever  been 
fearful  and  jealous  of  Russia,  has,  by  inviting  the  Czar  to  assist 
in  the  conquest  of  Hungary,  assumed  the  relation  of  a  dependent 
on  him,  and  probably  placed  it  in  the  power  of  the  Czar  to  pursue 
what  course  he  pleases,  without  respect  to  the  wishes  of  Austria." 
In  a  word  (as  I  have  before  said),  scarcely  an  event  took 
place  in  the  course  of  all  those  strange  revolutionary  struggles 
which  was  not  the  opposite  of  what  was  expected  and  desired. 
Both  rulers  and  people  missed  their  aim  in  all  that  they  attempted, 
and  all  the  calculations  of  human  sagacity  and  forecast  quite 
failed.  It  was  a  great  political  game  played  in  the  dark.  The 
"  kingdom  of  the  Beast  was  full  of  darkness^  No  symbol  could 
more  exactly  express  the  condition  of  Southern  Europe  during 
that  eventful  period.  The  actors  in  the  great  drama  were  with- 
out concert  or  understanding  of  each  other's  movements,  as  men 
groping  their  way  in  the  dark.  Confusion,  perplexity,  doubt,  and 
especially  disappointment,  were  the  most  prominent  characteris- 
tics of  the  recent  European  movements.  Little  has  yet  been  re- 
alized but  defeat  and  disappointment.  What  but  disaster  and 
despair  have  crowned  the  noble  struggles  for  liberty,  of  the  peo- 


STRUGGLES    FOR   LIBERTY COMING    CHANGE.  63 

pie  of  Paris — of  Berlin — of  Vienna — of  Rome,  Genoa,  Milan, 
Florence  and  Naples  ?  How  completely  thwarted  all  their  en- 
deavors for  liberty !  And  how  disastrous  the  revolt  of  the  Sicil- 
ians ;  and  how  humiliating  the  defeat  of  the  outbreak  for  liberty 
in  Ireland !  And  poor  Hungary— noble  Hungary — whose  heart 
did  not  throb  a  welcome  to  her  among  the  sons  of  the  free  (who 
more  worthy  ?  ) — and  whose  heart  has  not  been  pained  at  her 
melancholy  fall ! 

But  the  other  part  of  the  prophecy  seems  to  be  meeting  a  no 
less  exact  fulfilment  in  the  present  condition  of  Europe :  "  And 
they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  and  repented  not  of 
their  deeds,"  All  these  political  convulsions,  instead  of  conduct- 
ing those  nations  to  moral  reformations,  seem  driving  them  on  to 
infidelity  and  atheism ;  and  their  defeat  and  disasters  seem  not 
to  be  working  a  feeling  of  humility  and  dependence  on  the  Divine 
arm,  but  is  rather  torturing,  tormenting  and  maddening  them  on  to 
a  struggle  of  which,  what  has  been,  is  but  the  beginning  of  sorrows. 
All  Europe  is  trembling  over  a  volcano.  Its  internal  fires  are  boil- 
ing, and  ere  long  we  shall  hear  the  explosion — and  such  an  ex- 
plosion the  world  does  not  often  hear ! 

The  present  hostile  attitude  of  the  great  European  powers  is 
awfully  grand  and  dreadfully  ominous  of  coming  change.  Stu- 
pendous armies  are  rallying  to  the  combat  The  most  for- 
midable preparations  are  making  to  shake  the  whole  continent  of 
Europe,  and  to  drench  the  nations  in  blood.  We  wait  in  awful 
suspense  the  result.  If  it  be  not  the  final  great  battle  (which  we 
do  not  apprehend),  it  is  doubtless  a  mighty  conflict  which  shall,  in 
dreadful  certainty,  hasten  on  the  final  battle.  The  contending 
parties  in  the  late  Italian  war  seemed  not  arranged  for  finality. 
The  great  confederated  enemy,  which  shall  finally  range  himself 
in  deadly  hostility  against  the  nations  that  acknowledge  and  fear 


64  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

God  and  contain  the  true  Church,  may  first  be  allowed  to  fight 
against  himself — one  portion  of  this  confederacy  be  made  to  prey 
upon,  to  weaken,  if  not  to  destroy  another  portion,  before  the  final 
adjustment  of  parties  for  the  great  and  last  conflict. 

If  the  confederation  which  we  anticipate,  viz.,  a  confederacy 
of  Russia  as  the  representative  and  embodied  strength  of  the 
Eastern  Hierarchy,  and  of  the  Roman  Catholic  powers  of  Eu- 
rope as  the  representative  and  embodiment  of  the  Papal  Hierar- 
chy, were  now  to  join  hands  in  the  conflict  against  the  Protestant 
powers  of  Europe,  the  odds  would  be  fearfully  against  the  latter. 
It  would  be  the  alliance  of  the  Bear  and  the  Wolf  against  the 
Lamb.  But  the  great  King  who  rules  among  the  nations  knows 
full  well  how  to  set  the  Bear  and  the  Wolf  first  in  deadly  con- 
flict with  each  other;  and  not  till  they  shall  have  expended  their 
strength  and  wasted  their  resources  in  mutual  combat,  will  he  al- 
low them  to  combine  against  his  anointed. 

Such  we  apprehend  to  be  the  character  of  the  late  war  in 
Europe.  Before  the  final  adjustment  of  parties  for  the  Great 
Battle,  we  shall  probably  witness  a  great  slaughter  among  the 
aliens.  They  shall  pounce  upon  and  devour  one  another.  San- 
guinary battle-fields,  accompanied  perhaps  by  the  Divine  judg- 
ments, shall  greatly  weaken  those  powers ;  and  yet  more  remark- 
able changes  may,  in  the  mean  time,  come  over  the  face  of 
European  afiairs,  and  especially  over  the  embattled  hosts  of 
Rome  and  of  the  great  Eastern  apostasy,  through  a  repetition  of 
the  revolutions  of  1848.  Europe,  as  I  have  said,  is  rocked  on  a 
volcano.  There  are  working  beneath  her  surface  elements  of 
tremendous  power.  Fearful  are  those  internal,  hidden  struggles 
for  liberty,  and  ere  long  they  must  find  vent ;  and  dreadful  will 
be  the  explosion.  The  noble  spirits  of  Forty-Eight  are  not  dead. 
A  decade  of  years  has  added  strength  to  their  arms,  and  new  res- 
olution and  courage  to  their  hearts.     Kossuth  and  Mazzini  yet 


APPROACHING    SIGNS   OF   THE   MILLENNIUM.  65 

live — or  if  their  arms  should  be  palsied,  their  mantles  shall  fall 
on  others  who  shall  rise  in  the  strength  of  the  God  of  Elijah,  and 
in  the  sacred  name  of  Liberty,  marshal  a  countless  host  who  have 
"  not  defiled  their  garments"  with  the  wrongs  of  despotism  or  the 
corruptions  of  Rome. 

The  late  war  was  very  much  a  conflict  of  Rome  with  Rome. 
The  progress  of  future  hostilities  will  no  doubt  reveal  new  ele- 
ments of  contention,  and  new  arrangements  of  parties.  Unex- 
pected revolutions  may  disclose  new  issues  to  be  sought,  until  the 
great  and  final  issue  between  truth  and  error,  between  great  Baby- 
lon and  the  servants  of  the  living  God,  shall  be  reached.  We 
must  therefore  wait  and  pray,  hope  and  trust  till  the  end  come. 

Indeed,  there  seems  much  in  the  present  political  condition  of 
the  world  which  we  are  warranted  in  taking  as  preliminary  to 
the  no  distant  coming  of  the  MDlennium.  A  moment's  reflection 
increases  the  conviction  that  the  great  crisis  hastens  on  apace, 
heralded  by  the  thunderings  and  lightnings  and  earthquakes  of 
political  convulsions — the  turning  the  earth  upside  down — the 
destruction  of  all  that  stands  not  on  the  sure  basis  of  truth  and 
righteousness,  and  the  speedy  establishment  of  that  better,  that 
glorious  kingdom  which  shall  have  no  end. 

3.  Another  indication  that  the  time  is  at  hand  when  the  wicked 
shall  meet  a  signal  and  awful  overthrow,  and  the  emph-e  of  right- 
eousness be  set  up,  is,  I  said,  the  present  extraordinary  increase 
of  religious  knowledge,  and  the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel. 

A  distinguishing  sign  of  such  a  period  is  that  many  shall  go  to 
and  froy  and  knowledge  shall  increase.  The  gospel  must  first  be 
preached  to  all  nations — the  Bible  translated  into  all  tongues — 
the  earth  traversed  in  its  length  and  breadth  till  a  knowledge 
of  the  gospel  become  universal.  The  Press  must  send  out  the 
savor  of  life  far  and  wide — the  Bible  must  be  read  and  under- 
stood— Christians  be  better  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  re- 
5 


66  THE   COMING   CRISIS    OP   THE   WORLD. 

demption,  and  there  be  a  general  and  rapid  advance  in  Divine 
knowledge. 

And  is  this  not  rapidly  becoming  true  of  the  present  age  ?  It 
is  very  generally  conceded  that  this  sign  is  abundantly  verified. 
Since  the  world  began  knowledge  was  never  so  widely  diffused — 
science  never  so  advanced — ^learning  of  all  kinds  so  nearly  uni- 
versal. And  the  gospel  was  never  known  to  so  large  a  portion 
of  the  population  of  the  earth.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  at  the 
present  day  a  nation  or  a  tribe  in  which  the  gospel  is  not  already 
preached,  at  least  to  a  portion  of  its  inhabitants.  Already  has 
the  Bible  been  translated  into  every  principal  language  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Already  are  the  embassadors  of  the  cross 
traversing  every  nation.  Such  are  the  facilities  of  communica- 
tion that  nations,  which  but  a  little  time  since  were  unknown  to 
each  other,  are  brought  into  neighborhood.  By  means  of  the 
press,  of  travelers,  commercial  agents  and  missionaries,  they  are 
brought  within  speaking  distance.  There  is  an  advanced  state 
of  knowledge  throughout  the  whole  world.  It  is  a  day  of  unparal- 
leled light,  and  light  is  increasing  in  a  more  rapid  ratio  than  ever 
before.  Already  has  the  gospel  become  a  witness  to  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  earth's  population. 

Zion  shall  arise  and  shine,  her  light  being  come  and  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  being  risen  upon  her.  But  this  increase  of  light 
shall,  more  surely  than  any  thing  else,  rouse  the  slumbering  foe 
and  hasten  on  the  conflict. 

4.  "  That  day  shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  falling  away 
first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition."  We 
may  expect,  I  said,  first  a  very  general  declension  and  apathy  in 
religion  and  sad  apostasies,  followed  by  the  revelation  of  the 
"Man  of  Sin,"  a  subtle,  insidious,  dangerous  infidelity  and  law- 
lessness or  insubordination,  which,  under  the  pretext  of  moral  re- 
form and  religious  advancement,  shall  trample  on  all  order  and 


THE   MAN    OF   SIN.  67 

right,  and  become  the  most  seductive,  dangerous  and  deadly  foe 
Christianity  has  ever  had.  Do  we  not  see  at  the  present  day  a 
falling  away,  both  from  the  holding  fast  of  the  sound  words  of 
Christian  doctrine,  and  more  especially  in  reference  to  Christian 
practice  ?  Have  not  past  years — the  year  1858  excepted — been 
years  of  general  declension — a  period  when  there  was  a  most 
woful  withholding  of  the  Spirit  ?  And  not  only  this,  but  there  is 
a  sad  apostatizing.  In  one  large  portion  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
there  is  a  strange  retrograde  movement  back  again  into  the 
bosom  of  Rome.  And  in  other  portions  of  the  Christian  Church 
there  are  departures  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
purity  of  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

And  not  only  this,  but  there  is,  every  year,  a  more  and  more 
manifest  revelation  of  the  "  3Ian  of  Sin,  the  son  of  perdition" 

The  discussion  of  our  general  subject  would  be  left  quite  in- 
complete if  I  did  not  say  more  on  this  particular  feature  of  the 
times  and  events  that  are  to  precede  the  Millennium,  than  can  be 
said  in  the  present  chapter.  The  "revelation,"  development, 
growth,  maturity  and  the  destruction  of  this  Man  of  Sin,  and  son 
of  perdition,  is  all  to  take  take  place  before  the  coming  of  Christ 
and  the  setting  up  of  his  earthly  kingdom.  He  is  to  be  destroyed 
hy  the  brightness  of  his  coming. 

Reserving  to  some  future  chapter,  to  show  that  this  man  of  sin  is 
fast  being  revealed,  I  shall  at  present  only  add  that  I  do  not  believe 
the  Roman  Hierarchy,  the  Papish  apostasy,  to  be  this  "  Man  of 
Sin."  This  colossal  system  and  mystery  of  iniquity  is  doubtless 
a  man  of  sin — answering  in  many  of  its  general  features  to  that 
power  described  by  Paul  (2  Thess.  ii).  But  it  is  evidently  not 
specifically  the  Man  of  Sin  there  described.  I  think  the  attentive 
reader  of  that  chapter  will  rather  discover  the  description  of  a 
great  infidel  and  atheistic  power  yet  to  rise,  than  the  distinctive 
features  of  Popery,  which  have  already  existed.      And  if  we 


68  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

were  to  translate  the  word  "  wicked,"  in  the  expression  "  Then 
shall  that  wicked  be  revealed,"  by  the  word  lawless  or  impious^  as 
with  all  propriety  might  be  done,  and  substitute  the  word  '•  law- 
lessness "  in  the  place  of  "  iniquity,"  in  the  phrase  "  Mystery  of 
iniquity,"  we  should  much  sooner  recognize  here  the  popular 
Infidelity  of  our  times,  than  the  Religion  of  Rome  and  of  the 
Pope.  It  is  to  be  that  thing  acted  over  again  on  a  large  scale  which 
appeared  in  miniature,  in  France,  in  her  reign  of  atheism  and 
of  terror — with  this  difference,  that  that  was  Infidelity  with  the 
grossness  and  comparative  ignorance  of  the  time ;  this  shall  be 
infidelity  with  the  light  and  knowledge,  the  refinement  and  relig- 
ion of  the  present  times.  It  is  to  be  a  state  of  things  in  which 
human  wisdom — human  reason,  shall  be  exalted  above  all  that 
is  divine — in  which  men  shall  be  wise  above  what  is  written — 
when  they  shall  be  "  heady  and  high-minded  " — shall  practically 
acknowledge  no  power  higher  than  themselves.  Indeed,  I  sup- 
pose, the  apostle  is  here  describing  that  same  great  power  of  un- 
holiness  of  which  he  and  Peter  and  Jude  speak  of  as  being 
about  to  prevail  in  the  "  last  days."  * 

I  suppose  we  have  here  a  summary  description  of  that  last 
great  and  terrible  scheme  of  the  wicked  one,  which  shall  exist  at 
the  revelation  of  our  Lord.  Unlike  the  Papists,  who  are  theo- 
retically orthodox,  the  men  of  that  day  shall  be  scoffers,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts,  brooking  no  restraint — lawless — self-willed 
— supercilious — denying  the  Lord  that  bought  them — despising 
dominion,  and  speaking  evil  of  dignities.  That  such  shall  be  the 
next  great  and  final  form  of  sin  in  our  world,  and  that  sin  is  fast 
assuming  this  form — that  the  moral  corruption  of  wicked  men  is 
now  developing  itself  in  such  a  form  as  we  have  here  indicated,  I 
think,  will  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  be  made  to  appear. 

*Paul,  in  2  Tim.  iii.  1—5  ;  2  Peter,  iii.  8,  4;  Jude,  4—8,  14—19. 


REFLECTIONS.  69 

In  closing,  I  may  just  remark  that  the  three  points  which  have 
occupied  our  minds  in  the  present  chapter,  give  rise  to  three  dis- 
tinct reflections : 

1.  When  the  Judgments  of  God  are  abroad  in  the  earth,  we 
should  learn  righteousness. 

2.  When  God  is  overturning  the  earth,  and  breaking  up  every 
false  structure,  and  bringing  to  naught  all  things  that  do  not  please 
him,  how  ought  we  to  examine  our  foundation'^ 

3.  As  knowledge  is  increased — the  gospel  more  widely  preached 
— the  light  made  clearer — duty  made  plainer,  and  new  modes  of 
usefulness  opened  to  us,  how  are  our  responsibilities  increased — 
how  our  guilt  f 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Characteristics  of  our  Age — Modern  Infidelity  as  the  Man  of  Sin. 

"  And  that  Man  of  Sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition."— 2  Tkess.  ii.  3. 

In  reply  to  the  inquiry,  "  Are  there  indications  at  the  present 
time  of  the  near  approach  of  the  Millennium  ?  "  I  have  already 
spoken  of  judgments,  of  civil  convulsions,  and  of  an  increase  of 
knowledge  and  the  extensive  diffusion  of  the  gospel,  as  indica- 
tions that  the  day  of  Zion's  emancipation  is  near.  In  alluding  to 
the  falling  away,  or  the  apostasies  that  shall  precede  that  day, 
and  to  the  consequent  revelation  of  the  Man  of  Sin,  that  shall 
be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition.  I  then  hinted  that  I  did  not 
think  this  man  of  sin  the  Pope  of  Rome,  or  the  Roman  Hierar- 
chy, but  rather  an  infidel,  atheistic  power  that  should  arise — a 
condition  of  unparalleled  lawlessness  and  impiety.  A  great  anti- 
christian  power — ^the  last  great  exhibition  of  sin — the  climax 
and  consummation  of  the  works  of  the  Devil,  the  god  of  this 
world,  before  he  shall  be  obliged  to  yield  up  his  dominion  on  the 
earth  and  make  an  end  of  sin.  As  we  expect  that  the  coming 
and  last  dispensation  of  grace  on  this  earth  shall  be  the  most 
glorious,  the  most  morally  magnificent  of  any  preceding  one, 

(70) 


MODERN    INFIDELITY.  71 

SO  we  may  expect  the  last  dispensation  of  sin  shall  be  corres- 
pondingly luxuriant  in  the  wiles  and  the  deep-laid  schemes  of 
the  Pit.  As  one  shall  be  the  nearest  approach  to  heaven  of  any 
thing  ever  yet  known  on  earth,  the  other  shall  be  the  nearest 
approach  to  hell.  In  subtlety — in  the  power  to  deceive,  if  pos- 
sible, the  very  elect — in  the  deep  Philosophy  of  high-fallen  in- 
tellect, all  clad  in  a  garb  of  an  angel  of  light,  we  may  expect 
the  last  great  scheme  of  Satan  to  be  his  mightiest  and  his  worst 
— ^more  potent  to  deceive,  more  sure  to  destroy. 

In  what  may  in  general  terms  be  called  Modem  Infidelity^  I 
believe  we  have,  in  germ  at  least,  just  such  a  system  as  I  have 
alluded  to.  The  religion  of  Rome,  of  Mecca,  and  the  religion 
of  the  Pagans  are  little  else  than  different  illustrations  of  Infidel- 
ity. The  last  scheme  shall  be  like  them  all — and  yet  unlike  them 
all — shall  have  the  same  spirit,  and  the  same  end  to  accomplish, 
yet  the  form  and  the  means  of  accomplishing  that  end  shall  dif- 
fer. Perhaps  we  cannot  better  indicate  it  than  to  call  it  a  union 
of  Romanism,  Paganism  and  Infidelity,  clad  in  the  garb  of  an 
angel  of  light. 

The  judicious  and  pious  commentator,  Dr.  Scott,  on  this  point, 
remarks :  "  Papal  persecutors  were  often  concealed  infidels ;  and 
infidels  concealed  under  any  other  mask,  and  opposing  vital  Chris- 
tianity, may  perhaps  equally  answer  the  prediction :  for  the  pecu- 
liar opinions  of  this  antichristian  power  are  not  specified.  The 
prevalence  of  Infidelity  in  various  forms,  and  the  zeal  with  which 
principles  of  that  tendency  are  everywhere  propagated,  when  con- 
trasted with  the  declining  state  of  the  Popish  superstition,  renders  it 
not  wholly  improbable  that  the  '  Beast '  may  change  his  ground 
and  method  of  attack  before  he  thus  prevails  against  the  *  Wit- 
nesses.* " 

The  probable  change  of  ground,  and  method  of  attack  and  form, 


72  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

is,  that  the  Beast  will  depute  his  authority  to  some  subtle,  delusive 
Infidelity  clad  in  a  Christian  costume,  which  shall  prosecute  the 
warfare  against  the  Witnesses  more  effectually,  because  more 
clandestinely,  and  shall  overcome  them  and  kill  them.  There- 
fore, 

5.  I  shall  now  direct  attention,  as  the  next  characteristic  of 
our  times,  to  such  a  view,  as  I  may  be  able  to  give,  of  Modern 
Infidelity.  My  object  is,  that  there  may  be  seen  in  it,  first, 
the  Man  of  Sin — sin  matured  into  manhood — sin  in  its  last  great 
strength  and  malignity.  And,  secondly,  that  there  may  be  dis- 
covered in  its  peculiar  development,  the  approaching,  ominous 
close  of  the  present  dispensation,  and  the  no  distant  approach  of 
the  Millennial  period — ^the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  to  set  up 
his  kingdom  on  the  earth. 

There  is  much  in  the  present  aspect  of  Infidelity  which  beto- 
kens a  fearful  conflict  with  the  Truth  at  no  distant  day.  And  we 
are  scarcely  in  danger  of  overrating  its  importance  as  a  sign  of 
the  times. 

Infidelity,  which  in  our  day  is  extensively  diffused,  has  changed 
its  mode  of  attack.  In  the  days  of  Voltaire  and  the  French  Revo- 
lution it  was  bold,  argumentative  and  overbearing.  It  hoped  to 
put  down  Christianity  by  logic  and  philosophy.  Argument  was 
the  weapon  of  its  warfare.  Reason  was  exalted  as  the  last  court 
of  appeal.  And  Paine^  in  his  too  well-known  work,  "  The  Age 
of  Reason^''  essayed  to  prostrate  the  fair  fabric  of  Religion,  and 
to  remove  its  very  foundations  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
fain  to  blot  out  its  remembrance  from  the  annals  of  the  world. 
But  he  failed.  Reason,  so  far  as  she  was  capable  of  making  a 
verdict  on  the  sublime  mysteries  of  Christianity,  pronounced  in 
her  favor.  And  never  has  Christianity  prospered  more — never 
spread  her  wings  so  widely  and  diffused  such  healing  in  her 
beams — never  before  overshadowed  so  much  of  the  earth  and 


NEW    PHASES    OF    INFIDELITY.  73 

scattered  over  its  desert  surface  so  much  of  her  celestial  fruits, 
as  since  Voltaire  and  Paine,  and  that  unholy  conspiracy  against 
the  truth,  ceased  to  pour  out  the  vials  of  their  wrath.  The  Church 
has  lived  and  prospered ;  and  not  the  less  so  because  of  their 
hard  reasonings  and  bold  invectives. 

It  was  then  infidelity  unmasked — infidelity  fighting  under  her 
own  banners. 

But  a  change  has  come  over  the  scene.  The  eruptions  of  the 
volcano,  which  then  disgorged  their  fiery  floods  over  all  Europe,  and 
rolled  their  resistless  waves  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  land  of  the 
Pilgrims,  have,  at  length,  given  place  to  the  latent  heavings  and 
burnings  of  internal  fires,  deepening  and  widening,  and  preparing 
to  burst  forth  again  with  redoubled  fury.  Infidelity  has  become 
subtle  and  covert,  preparing  rather  to  appear  as  an  angel  of  light 
— to  wear  the  form  of  Religion,  in  which  she  may  the  more  effec- 
tually stab  her  to  the  heart.  There  is  open  infidelity  yet,  bold, 
obtrusive,  threatening,  from  which  the  Church  has  something  to 
fear.  She  may  still  be  assailed  and  galled  by  its  violence.  Yet 
her  danger  lies,  not  in  Pagan  or  atheistic,  but  in  baptized  infidel- 
ity— infidelity  in  and  close  about  the  nominal  Church.  There  is 
the  infidelity  of  Popery,  covering  the  greater  portion  of  the 
states  of  Europe  and  much  of  the  New  World ;  and  the  scarcely 
less  extended  infidelity  in  the  Greek  Church.  There  is  the  infi- 
delity of  portions  of  Protestantism,  wearing  the  form  of  piety, 
and  assenting  to  its  doctrines,  but  denying  its  power.  There  is, 
again,  the  infidehty  of  Socinianism  and  all  its  kindred  tribes,  and 
of  Universalism  and  all  its  pitiful  fraternity,  endeavoring  to  rea- 
son men  out  of  their  souls,  or  laugh  them  out  of  their  inheritance 
in  the  skies.  And  there  is  yet  the  more  daring  and  fearful  infi- 
delity of  German  Neology,  which  has  usurped  the  seat  of  learning 
and  raised  its  unhallowed  form  high  on  the  eminence  of  Christian 


74  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

Theology,  striking  a  deadly  blow  at  the  vitality  of  our  holy 
religion. 

Modern  infidelity  is  not  so  much  besieging  the  walls  of  our  Zion 
from  without — erecting  its  scaling-ladders,  or  plying  her  well- 
formed  bulwarks  with  its  huge  battering-ram,  but  it  has  insinu- 
ated itself  within  her  very  walls.  It  is  lurking  about  her  altar, 
and  finds  a  lodgement  in  her  strongholds. 

This  is  what  the  page  of  prophecy  has  taught  us  to  expect 
before  that  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord,  and  is  what  shall 
bring  about  that  day.  It  is  the  "  mystery  of  iniquity  "  working 
in  the  children  of  disobedience — the  "spirit  of  devils,  work- 
ing wonders  " — not  in  words  denying  God,  but  in  works  casting  off 
his  authority,  and  exalting  itself  above  all  that  is  called  God  or 
that  is  worshiped.  It  is  an  unclean  spirit  under  a  religious  dis- 
guise— a  threefold  emanation  from  the  Dragon,  the  Beast  and 
False  Prophet,  described  as  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs — am- 
phibious— able  to  accommodate  themselves  to  all  circumstances — 
noisome  and  vexatious. 

The  danger  of  such  an  infidelity  is  immense.  The  longer  it 
works  the  more  formidable  it  becomes.  It  is  the  enemy  within 
the  citadel.  While  allowed  unmolested  possession,  it  is  not  tumult- 
uous. But  attempt  to  dislodge  the  foe  and  cast  him  out,  he  stamps 
the  earth  in  his  rage,  he  shakes  the  forest  with  his  roaring. 

But  we  must  ponder  this  topic  a  little  more  leisurely — must 
inquire  more  in  detail  what  there  is  in  the  present  developments  of 
infidelity  which  betokens  its  speedy  collision  with  the  truth. 

I  shall  dwell  on  this  topic  the  longer  as  I  believe  we  may  here 
discover  the  lineaments  at  least — the  incipient  developments — of 
that  great  antichristian  system,  the  last  and  most  formidable  an- 
tagonist of  the  Christian  Church. 

Where,  then,  shall  we  look  for  these  fast-maturing  germs  of  the 
last  great  antichrist  ?     I  hesitate  not  to  say  I  think  I  see  them 


SPECIOUS    PRETEXTS    OF   INFIDELITY. 


75 


vegetating  and  rapidly  maturing  in  the  Owenism,  the  Non-Re- 
sistance, the  Fourierism,  Transcendentalism,  and  Come-outism  of 
our  country — ^in  the  Socialism  and  Chartism  of  England — in  the 
Communism  and  Fourierism  of  France — in  the  Radicalism  and 
Free  Societies  of  Switzerland — and  in  the  Pantheism,  the  ^^ Friends 
of  Light,**  and  the  Hengelianism  of  Germany. 

These  are  but  different  names  by  which,  in  different  portions 
of  the  world,  the  same  thing  is  called.  The  animating  spirit  is 
the  same ;  it  is  a  lurking,  subtle,  masked  infidelity  suited  to  the  times. 
At  one  time  it  mounts  the  car  of  Reform,  raised  to  a  dizzy  height 
above  the  common  herd,  speeding  its  way  ahead,  leaving  conse- 
quences at  a  fearful  remove  behind  ;  again,  you  find  it  the  judge 
and  censor  and  fierce  advocate  of  an  elevated  piety,  ready  at  a 
blow  to  demolish  all  of  piety  there  is  in  the  world  for  the  sake 
of  erecting  on  its  ruins  the  stately,  transcendental  fabric  of  its  own 
imagining ;  or  you  meet  it,  with  the  besom  of  destruction  in  its 
right  hand,  prostrating  all  law  and  authority  and  human  govern- 
ment—or presumptuously  entering  the  sanctuary,  stripping  the 
man  at  the  altar  of  his  sacerdotal  power,  casting  the  Bible  into 
the  labyrinths  of  distrust  and  perplexity,  disbanding  the  Church, 
if  possible,  and  filching  from  her  the  sanctity  of  her  Sabbaths, 
and  all  this,  forsooth,  for  some  hetter  thing,  which  is  to  be  intro- 
duced when  the  ground  shall  be  cleared  of  all  present  incum- 
brances. 

Its  pious  design,  under  the  pretext  of  a  grand  system  of  Reform, 
in  government,  society  and  religion,  is  to  prostrate  all  existing  in- 
stitutions, whether  civil,  social  or  religious,  and  to  build  anew,  not 
after  the  fashion  shown  to  Moses  in  the  mount,  but  after  the  fash- 
ion dictated  by  the  god  they  worship,  the  "  spirit  of  the  age." 

A  brief  examination  of  some  of  these  systems  of  skepticism, 
which,  of  late,  have  sprung  up  almost  simultaneously  in  different 
and  widely  distant  parts  of  Christendom,  yet  one  in  spirit,  will 


76  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

verify  what  I  have  said.  No  one  yet  delineates  the  full-grown 
Beast.  Some  portray  one  feature  more  prominently,  some  an- 
other, yet  the  spirit  and  tendency  of  all  is  essentially  the  same. 

Take  for  an  example  the  Socialism  and  Chartism  of  England, 
which  differ  scarcely  but  in  name  from  the  Non-resistance  and 
"  Come-outism"  of  America,  and  we  shall  see  on  what  moral  ba- 
sis the  whole  system  is  founded. 

While  true  Christianity  promotes  the  civilization  and  refinement 
of  the  world,  strengthens  the  bonds  of  the  social  compact,  and 
improves  and  elevates  the  social  character  of  man.  Socialism,  the 
doctrine  of  Robert  Owen  as  illustrated  in  his  settlement  at  New 
Harmony,  and  enforced  in  his  public  and  private  teachings  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe,  would  break  up  the  very  fountains  of  the 
social  principle.  It  is  a  lawless,  restive,  licentious  spirit  which 
spurns  the  bonds  of  civil  restraints.  It  would  have  no  law,  no 
government,  no  restraints.  It  is  but  the  concentration  and  ma- 
turity of  views,  feelings,  and  doctrines  which  had  their  origin,  not 
in  this  pernicious  system,  but  in  the  human  heart. 

Though  diametrically  opposed  to  Christianity,  Owen,  true  to 
the  genius  of  modern  infidelity,  did  not  avow  this  till  his  follow- 
ers could  bear  it.  But  "  now,"  says  a  writer  in  a  late  English 
newspaper,  "  Owen  and  his  followers  have  completely  thrown  off 
the  mask,  and  are  at  present  employed  throughout  England  in 
the  most  undisguised  and  wicked  attempts  to  set  aside  the  scheme 
of  Divine  revelation,  and  to  subvert  Christian  morality.  Owen- 
ism  aims  at  sweeping  away  all  the  existing  forms  of  religious 
belief."  Prayer  and  all  other  forms  of  worship  are  the  objects  of 
ridicule  and  contempt — the  Being  of  a  Great  First  Cause  doubted 
— native  depravity  and  personal  responsibility  boldly  denied.  The 
Bible  is  virulently  opposed  and  spoken  of  as  written  by  ignorant 
men.     Salvation  through  Christ  is  abused  and  rejected.     It  aims, 


THE    "friends    of   LIGHT."  77 

in  a  word,  at  the  complete  subversion  of  the  present  order  of  re- 
ligion and  of  society. 

"  Marriage  is  denounced  as  a  state  of  deceit  and  immorality ; 
and,  to  the  reproach  of  human  nature^  fe?nale  apostles  travel  through 
England,  unUushingly  declaiming  against  marriage  as  the  cause 
of  the  crimes  and  miseries  which  afflict  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  men,  and  offer  plausible  pleas  for  the  indulgence  of  unre- 
strained licentiousness."  And  strange  as  it  may  seem  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  this  system  is  not  so  opposed  to  the  public 
taste,  not  so  odious  or  starthng  (though  directly  tending  to  license 
the  most  shameless  immorality)  that  it  does  not  find  there  numer- 
ous advocates.  Yet  it  is  to  be  feared  that  such  sentiments  are 
as  rife,  though  not  so  ripe  in  America  as  in  England. 

If  such  a  leaven  be  at  work,  so  extensively  and  in  such  a  place, 
is  it  not  a  precursor  of  a  convulsion  ?  This  looks  more  like  an  at- 
tempt to  "  slay  the  Witnesses" — to  suppress  the  truth  and  trample 
under  foot  the  Church  of  God,  than  any  thing  we  have  yet  seen. 

Or,  go  to  Germany  and  you  will  meet  the  same  thing :  the 
name  and  the  costume  is  changed,  but  the  body  and  soul  is  the 
same.  There  this  rising  conspiracy  against  the  truth  call  them- 
selves the  "Friends  of  Light."  The  Friends  of  Light  have 
undertaken  to  carry  out,  practically,  what  the  Rationalists  had  pro- 
posed, theoretically.  The  appeal  of  the  one  was  to  Reason,  ex- 
alting it  above  all  they  call  God  or  worship  ;  that  of  the  other 
to  the  passions,  stirring  up  popular  feeling,  and  exciting  popular 
prejudices. 

An  intelligent  writer  of  the  present  day  (G.  de  Felice)  thus 
speaks  of  the  Friends  of  Light,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they 
treat  the  Bible .  "  They  do  not  receive  the  Bible  as  supreme 
authority  in  religious  matters.  They  say  that  there  are  in  this 
book  errors  and  contradictions,  and  that  what  was  written  eigh- 
teen hundred  years  ago,  does  not  suit  our  enlightened  age.^'    These 


78  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Friends  of  Light  concede  that  the  Bible  contains  words  of  God, 
or  fundamental  truths,  which  they  can  distinguish  from  the  dross 
by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  which  is  in  them.  But  when  you 
come  to  inquire  what  this  spirit,  dignified  as  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord,  is,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  say  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  age. 
And  as  every  man  will  interpret  public  opinion  to  his  own  liking, 
it  follows  that  this  judge  and  discriminator  of  God's  word 
is  no  more  nor  less  than  a  man's  individual  reason.  By  this 
convenient  method  they  can  conduct  a  controversy,  and  sustain 
themselves  in  any  thing  they  wish  to  believe,  and  reject  what 
they  will.  They  have  only  to  declare  a  passage  which  stands  in 
tiieir  way  to  be  not  a  word  of  God,  or  if  it  ever  were  a  truth,  now 
obsolete  truth.  In  this  way  they  seem,  to  superficial  observers,  to 
support  a  subtle,  sinuous  system  of  infidelity  from  the  Bible, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  are  effectually  undermining  all  belief 
in  the  inspiration  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures. 

How  nearly  akin  such  views  are  to  those  embraced  and  exem- 
plified by  men  of  like  passions  in  this  country,  I  leave  to  the 
judgment  of  those  best  acquainted  with  both  their  theory  and 
practice.  The  Friends  of  Light  in  this  country  may  not  con- 
gratulate themselves  on  much  originality  in  their  new-modeled 
errors.  The  transcendentalists  for  subtlety  of  logic,  and  the  va- 
rious castes  of  ultraists  for  misguided  zeal,  have  their  prototype 
and  counterpart  in  the  old  world,  and  that  too,  as  a  fruit  of  Ger- 
man Neology,  or  Modern  Infidelity. 

JNIy  design  is  only  to  point  out  some  of  these  simultaneous  and 
similar  developments  in  different  parts  of  Christendom,  of  this 
rising  system  of  false,  subtle,  yet  Christianized  Infidehty,  which 
I  have  supposed  is  to  be  the  last  formidable  antagonist  of  the 
Church. 

It  matters  little  which  of  the  affianced  isms  I  have  named,  we 
select  in  order  to  discover  their  disorganizing  and  ruinous  ten- 


FOURIEBISM.  79 

dency,  and  their  ultimate  plunge  into  real  if  not  undisguised  Infi- 
delity. 

Take,  if  you  please,  for  our  next  example,  Fourierism,  This 
is  no  doubt  regarded  by  many  as  only  a  harmless  piece  of  fool- 
ery— harmless  except  to  them  who  foolishly  embark  their  all 
into  the  hands  of  a  gang  of  land-sharks,  never  to  come  out  from 
thence  till  they  have  lost  the  last  farthing.  But  this  is  but  the 
beginning  of  the  miseries  of  Fourierism.  It  is  based  on  prin- 
ciples destructive  of  all  law  and  order,  of  all  morality  and  re- 
ligion.    It  is  pregnant  with  the  popular  infidelity  of  the  day. 

This  charge  finds  ample  support  in  its  own  professions ;  and 
yet  its  professions  are  evidently  but  a  partial  index  of  its  spirit 
and  real  character.  It  is  based  on  new  doctrines  both  of  philos- 
ophy and  religion — doctrines,  when  carried  out,  utterly  subver- 
Bive  of  the  old-fashioned  doctrines  of  Divine  revelation.  They 
proclaim  their  intention  "  to  reorganize  society,"  that  is,  to  destroy 
all  its  existing  relations,  and  shape  it  to  suit  themselves  ;  to  abol- 
ish the  marriage  relation,  and  substitute  in  its  stead  universal  con- 
cubinage. Their  design  is  to  unsettle  and  destroy  in  society  all 
that  has  hitherto  been  settled ;  and  morality  and  religion  they 
treat  as  unceremoniously.  Contrary  to  all  experience,  to  con- 
science and  the  Bible,  they  teach  that  the  passions  are  not  to 
be  restrained  and  governed,  but  to  be  allowed  "  free  course  and 
development." 

They  make  sin  to  be  "  merely  a  weakness  incident  to  the  in- 
fancy of  our  race,  instead  of  an  evil  in  each  individual  soul."  The 
worship  of  God  is  stigmatized  as  a  "  servile  and  supei^stitious  ad- 
oration," and  indeed  the  whole  scheme  of  revealed  Religion  is 
thoroughly  and  contemptuously  discarded.  Its  forms  are  treated 
with  levity  and  ridicule,  and  its  spirit  denounced  as  tyrannical. 

I  will  quote  a  paragraph  from  Mr.  Ripley,  one  of  their  leading 
writers,  and  we  shall  find  their  position,  as  to  infidelity,  defined  in 


dO  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

their  own  words.     He  is  replying  to  the  charge  of  Infidehty  pre- 
ferred against  them.     He  says : 

"  We  ARE  injideh  in  respect  to  the  prevailing  religion  preached 
in  our  Ohurches.  I  say  we  repudiate  the  Christianity  of  our 
prevailing  Churches,  because  we  believe  these  Churches  reject 
Christianity.  We  reject  the  religion  of  the  Churches,  because  we 
do  not  see  in  them  that  spirit  of  devotion  to  man  which  the  gos- 
pel breathes  ;  M^e  see  in  them  no  attempt  to  realize  the  promises 
of  Christ,  that  men  shall  be  clothed  with  more  beauty  than  the 
flowers  of  the  field,  and  that  all  earthly  things  shall  be  given  in 
abundance  unto  them.  We  do  aim  at  the  destruction  of  the 
present  order  of  society.  "We  do  look  for  a  new  heaven  and  a. 
new  earth,  and  in  this  respect  we  are  content  to  bear  the  charge 
of  infidelity." 

Who  does  not  discover  here  the  sentiments  and  almost  precisely 
the  language  of  another  class  of  errorists  and  fanatics  in  our  own 
country  ?  They  reject  the  religion  of  the  Church  because  the 
Church  is  not  more  devoted,  not  to  God,  but  to  man,  and  does  not 
realize  the  promises  of  all  earthly  things.  They  would  fain  have 
it  understood  that  they,  without  either  the  pretension  or  attempted 
practice  of  piety  themselves,  cannot  tolerate  the  Church  because 
she  is  so  corrupt.  Pious  souls,  they ;  they  cannot  breathe  in  so 
tainted  an  atmosphere  as  the  Christian  Church,  and  therefore  they 
will  regale  their  pure  spirits  in  the  dismal  regions  of  doubt  and 
skepticism. 

Did  time  allow  and  need  require,  it  would  be  easy  to  point  out 
the  characteristics  of  other  kindred  germs  of  this  modern  Infidel- 
ity, and,  stripping  off  the  Christian  guise  which  for  the  present 
they  assume,  to  show  the  latent,  active  infidelity  which  is  rampant 
within.  There  are  the  Radicals  of  France,  the  Humanitists  of 
Germany,  and  the  Propagandists  of  Switzerland,  whose  object  is 
described  to  be  the  subversion  of  all  existing  morals — the  "  destruc- 


PROPAGANDIST    CLUBS.  81 

tion  of  the  social,  political  and  religious  organizations  of  Ger- 
many. The  Propagandist  clubs,  which  have  become  fearfully 
numerous  in  Europe,  especially  in  Switzerland,  have  taken  an 
advanced  step,  thrown  off  their  disguise,  and  speak  of  "  God  and 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  old  and  threadbare  trash."  "  Relig- 
ion," say  they,  "  is  dung."  Again :  "  Religion  is  all  a  battle  of 
smoke ; "  and  "  vengeance  is  a  natural  act  of  justice ;  and  we 
should  desire  to  see  the  outbreak  of  great  vices  and  outrageous 
crimes  rather  than  that  virtue  which  annoys  and  that  worn-out 
morality  with  which  thejjaiigtie  the  people  "  Any  thing  but  that 
old  morality  of  the  Church — that  threadbare  virtue  which  annoys 
— the  wicked. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  the  bitter  hostility  of  these  Propagandists 
against  all  evangelical  religion — their  downright  atheism — they 
ape  a  character  for  piety.  Says  Standon,  one  of  their  leaders, 
writing  to  a  fellow-champion  :  "  As  I  spend  much  of  my  time  at  the 
house  of  the  cur^,  and  frequently  dine  there,  I  pass  for  the  most 
pious  and  orthodox  person  in  the  world.  You  may  imagine  how 
droll  I  look  in  this  character."  "  I  assure  you  I  have  a  terrible 
penance  to  go  through  in  playing  this  pious  part  I  have  assumed  " 
— "attending  regularly  at  church  and  joining  in  religious  meet- 
ings every  day,  I  every  day  become  more  irreligious." 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  kindred  spirit  pervades  all  these  systems. 
They  all  bear  the  mark  of  the  Beast,  some  more,  some  less  dis- 
tinctly. They  are  agreed  in  leveling  all  existing  institutions  with 
the  dust,  whether  of  government,  society,  the  family,  or  religion, 
and  all  agree  in  doing  this  for  the  sake  of  introducing  a  purer 
and  higher  form  of  Christianity. 

They  agree  in  their  bitter  invectives  against  the  Christian  Church 
— in  their  unmeasured  abuse  of  her  ministry — in  their  strange  tam- 
perings  and  irreverence  with  the  word  of  God — in  their  vandal 
6 


82  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

tramplings  under  foot  of  the  "  powers  that  be,"  and  in  the  novel 
doctrines  concerning  the  holy  Sabbath. 

None  of  these  systems,  or  rather  parts  of  the  great  System, 
has  yet  fully  developed  itself.  I  only  attempt  to  point  out  the 
forming  lineaments  of  the  Beast  that  is  to  make  war  against  and 
destroy  and  kill  the  witnesses  for  the  truth.  We  see  that  Beast,  as 
yet,  scarcely  out  of  the  shell ;  yet  we  may  judge  of  his  enor- 
mous dimensions  and  his  great  power  to  hurt  and  to  kill,  by  these 
faint  outlines. 

Already  he  speaks  as  the  Beast,  although  he  appears  in  the 
garb  of  a  lamb.  The  war-cry  against  the  Church  and  clergy,  the 
Bible  and  the  Sabbath,  which  commenced  in  Europe,  has  found 
a  distinct  echo  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  And  here  more 
especially  has  it  been  achieved  under  the  cover  of  a  pretended 
piety,  and  with  the  pretext  of  introducing  a  purer  Church  and  a 
higher  order  of  piety.  Here  it  has  mounted  the  rostrum  of  Re- 
form, and  assumed  the  tone  of  benevolence  and  philanthropy,  and 
from  these  heights  of  popular  feeling,  has  more  effectually  struck 
the  fatal  blow. 

No  language  has  been  too  abusive  and  too  base  to  suit  the  pur- 
pose of  these  pretended  Reformers  in  their  attacks  on  the  Church 
and  her  ministry.  The  clergy  have  been  denounced  as  a  "  bro- 
therhood of  thieves,  and  the  Church  the  habitation  of  devils" — 
"  below  the  savages  " — "  destitute  of  common  humanity  " — *^  more 
savage  than  the  cannibals  of  the  South  Sea  Islands" — "their 
religion  had  burnt  out  their  humanity." — "  The  grog-shops  nearer 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  than  our  Churches." — "  The  clergy  the 
most  guilty  and  corrupting  body  of  men  in  the  land  " — "  unworthy 
and  dangerous  spiritual  guides."  (Gerrit  Smith.)  They  must, 
they  say, "  rip  up  the  Church  and  grind  them  to  powder."  They 
would  do  great  things,  glorious  things — make  earth  a  Paradise 
for  us,  could  they  but  annihilate  the  Church  and  her  very  trouble- 


PRETENDED    REFORMERS.  Od 

some  ministry,  and  remodel  the  Bible  to  suit  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
and  suitably  dispose  of  that  old  Jewish  day  called  the  Sabbath, 
and  a  few  more  things  which  have  become  antiquated  by  a  too 
long  use. 

Yet  these  men,  while  with  one  hand  they  raise  the  axe  of  exter- 
mination and  strike  the  very  foundations  of  our  religion,  with  the 
other  they  extend  a  "  bland  and  patronizing  condescension  ^  to- 
wards what  they  please  to  call  Christianity — but  not  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Churches ;  that  they  repudiate  and  hate,  but  the 
Christianity  which  they  fancy  will  emerge  from  the  ruins  of  the 
moral  deluge  they  hope  to  produce.  But  first  we  must  submit 
without  a  murmur,  or  demur,  to  a  complete  prostration  of  all 
existing  moorings  and  landmarks ;  and  when  we  have  surren- 
dered all  and  left  the  ground,  they  will  build — what,  we  must  wait 
and  see. 

Surely,  did  the  Devil  ever  act  more  wily,  to  turn  Reformer — 
to  burn  with  zeal  for  the  purity  of  the  Church — to  outstrip  How- 
ard and  Wilberforce  in  his  philanthropy — to  separate  himself 
from  the  Church  because  she  is  so  coiTupt — to  mourn  over  the 
defection  of  her  ministers,  and  all  this  that  he  may  carry  out,  in 
a  manner  suited  to  the  times,  the  great  scheme  of  deceiving  the 
nations  of  the  earth !  "  Truly,"  says  one,  "  the  work  of  Satan 
grows  and  expands  itself  side  by  side  with  that  of  the  Lord,  and 
this  word  of  Revelation  is  proved  to  be  true  :  the  Devil  is  come 
down  among  you  having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth  that  he 
hath  but  a  short  time." 

Did  names  and  human  authorities  prevail,  many  might  be  ad- 
duced to  show  that  I  have  not,  in  what  I  have  said,  widely  devi- 
ated in  the  opinions  here  advanced,  from  the  sentiments  of  many 
wiser  and  better,  and,  in  intellectual  and  moral  worth,  more  ex- 
alted on  Zion's  walls,  and  able  more  distinctly  to  read  the  signs 
of  the  times.     Says  one : 


84  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

"  Infidelity  is  among  us  in  its  most  subtle  guise.  A  false  and 
superficial  philosophy  is  the  order  of  the  day.  The  most  disorgan- 
izing principles  are  openly  broached  in  education,  politics  and  phi- 
losophy— all  under  the  guise  of  an  extraordinary  philanthropy,  and 
a  pretendedly  higher  faith  than  is  to  be  derived  from  the  teachings 
of  the  Church  and  the  authority  of  Revelation."  "  The  danger, 
we  contend,  is  real  and  imminent.  The  remedy  can  only  be  found 
in  a  stern  resolution  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  an  unwaver- 
ing faith  in  the  Bible,  to  guard,  by  every  means  in  their  power, 
all  who  are  under  their  influence,  from  the  insidious  attacks  of 
this  subtle  enemy." 

No  one  need  go  into  any  very  lengthened  examination  of  either 
of  the  Isms  I  have  named,  to  discover,  with  Prof.  Norton  of  Cam- 
bridge, "  the  latest  form  of  Infidelity T 

But  I  will  dwell  on  this  topic  no  longer ;  nor  should  I  so  long, 
but  for  its  practical  importance  at  this  time.  When  the  Enemy 
changes  his  mode  of  attack,  then  is  the  time  to  be  on  the  alert, 
ready  for  his  next  assault.  No  matter  if  he  be  an  angel,  if  he 
preach  any  other  gospel  than  Paul  preached  and  Paul's  Master 
dictated — if  he  invade  the  fold,  and  assail  the  Shepherd,  and 
scatter  the  sheep — if  he  set  up  other  standards,  or  demolish  those 
Christ  has  erected,  he  is  an  enemy;  receive  him  not;  and  go 
not  after  him.  For  many  false  prophets  have  gone  out  into  the 
world  who  will  so  nearly  imitate  the  true,  that,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, they  will  deceive  the  very  elect. 

I  cannot  forbear,  however,  further  to  confirm  what  I  have  said, 
to  quote  a  brief  paragraph  or  two  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  J.  W. 
Alexander.     In  a  discourse  on  "  Modern  Infidehty,"  he  says : 

"  The  beginning  of  the  infidelity  of  the  present  age,  unlike  the 
vulgar  infidelity  of  the  preceding  one,  was  with  a  show  of  great 
learning  and  science.  The  new  sciences  of  astronomy,  geology, 
ethnography,  and  ethnology,  have   been   invoked  to  prove  the 


INFIDELITY    AFFECTS    TO    BE    RELIGIOUS.  85 

Bible  false  ;  and  metaphysical  reasoners,  with  a  show  of  erudition 
and  acumen  never  surpassed,  have  endeavored  to  crush  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel. 

"  The  infidelity  of  our  age  affects  to  he  religious.  Finding  that 
man,  despoiled  of  all  the  religious  emotions,  became  a  Marat  or  a 
Paine,  a  tiger  or  a  swine,  the  arch-enemy  found  he  must  remodel 
his  devices,  and  bring  in  a  religion  better  than  that  of  the  Bible ; 
thus  becoming  most  dangerous,  when  transforming  himself  into 
an  angel  of  light.  This  new  form  of  error  employs  almost  every 
term  of  theology  and  experience  in  a  false  and  deceptive  sense, 
often  applying  the  most  sacred  words  of  gracious  truth  to  matters 
of  literature,  scenery,  the  fine  arts,  love,  and  alas,  even  to  sinfiil 
indulgence.  Some  of  the  foremost  poets  of  our  day  are  charge- 
able with  these  insidious  tactics ;  so  that  a  father  has  need  to 
look  well  to  the  books  which  lie  upon  his  daughter's  table,  as 
splendid  presentation-copies. 

"  Under  the  present  phase  of  infidelity  much  is  said  of  God, 
If  frequent  repetition  of  the  sacred  name  could  sanctify  a  cause, 
theirs  would  be  hallowed  indeed.  But  their  God  is  not  our  God ; 
not  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  not  the  God 
of  the  saints ;  not  even  a  personal  God.  The  more  they  talk  of 
God,  the  less  they  believe  in  him.  In  their  disguised  atheism  the 
term  implies  the  sum  of  all  things,  or  the  everlastingly  unfolding 
process  of  causes  ;  or  the  universal  reason,  as  existing  in  all  minds. 
Sometimes,  in  their  glorification  of  humanity,  they  utter  the  scrip- 
tural phrase,  *  God  is  man  ; '  but  their  inward  meaning  is,  that 
man  is  God.  Man  is  the  object  of  their  adoration.  The  highest 
manifestation  of  God,  say  they,  is  the  human  mind.  This  they 
dishonestly  name  at  times,  the  incarnation.  Never  before  has 
the  world  seen  so  large  a  body  of  infidels,  really  denying  every 
thing  like  a  proper  revelation,  yet  full  of  great  swelling  words 


86  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

about  the  Spirit,  the  God  of  history,  the  union  of  virtue  and 
beauty,  and  the  excellence  of  religion. 

"  The  infidelity  of  our  age  connects  itself  with  freedom  and 
social  progress.  The  cry  is,  that  Christianity  is  a  failure  ;  that 
the  Church  has  not  made  men  happy ;  that  whatever  good  the 
Bible  has  accomplished,  its  work  is  done,  and  we  must  have  some- 
thing better.  It  is  a  part  of  this  scheme  to  glory  in  humanity  as 
such ;  to  assert  the  independence  and  self-sufficiency  of  man ;  to 
deify  the  creature,  and  pushing  the  rights  of  man  to  a  Jacobini- 
cal and  impracticable  extreme,  to  install  lawless  freedom  in  the  pul- 
pit. Thus,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  philanthropy,  unsanctified, 
may  lead  unsound  minds  to  unbelief;  and  there  are  no  more  reck- 
less or  bitter  opponents  of  Christianity  than  a  number  of  writers, 
lecturers,  and  editors,  whom  we  once  knew  or  heard  of  as  minis- 
ters of  Jesus  Christ." 

In  conclusion,  the  inquiry  forces  itself  upon  us,  what  lesson  of 
instruction  ought  we  to  gather  from  such  a  subject  ?  If  the  ene- 
my has  taken  the  field  under  a  new  guise,  we  should  be  ready 
to  meet  him.  In  professions,  in  zeal,  in  subtlety,  he  may  outstiup 
us.  We  must  be  pj-epared  to  meet  him  on  the  arena  of  personal 
piety,  and  turn  against  him  the  battery  of  God's  everlasting  truth. 
We  must  be  "  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might." 
We  must  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that  we  may  be  able 
to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  Devil.  For  we  wrestle  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against  powers, 
against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places.  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  in  the  evil  day, 
and  having  done  all,  to  stand.  Stand,  therefore,  having  your 
loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on  the  breastplate  of  right- 
eousness, and  your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel 
of  peace ;  above  all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall 


ARMED    FOR    THE    ENEMY.  87 

be  able  to  quench  all  the  fieiy  darts  of  the  wicked ;  and  take  the 
helmet  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word 
of  God :  praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the 
Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance  and  suppli- 
cation for  all  saints ;  and  for  me,  that  "  utterance  may  be  given 
unto  me,  that  I  may  open  my  mouth  boldly  and  make  known  the 
mysteries  of  the  gospel." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

More  Signs — Paganism — Popery— The  Hierarchy  of  England  and  of  Scot- 
land— Increase  of  religious  knowledge — Stupidity  and  listlessness  of  the 
wicked— Extensive  revivals  of  Religion. 

"  Can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the  times?" — Matt.  xvi.  3. 

Men  are  usually  wise  in  their  secular  affairs.  They  look  about 
them — detect  adverse  influences — arrest  their  progress,  and  adapt 
means  to  the  accomplishment  of  ends  so  as  to  secure  their  own 
interests.  We  are  often  not  a  little  astonished  at  the  discernment 
with  which  men,  who  in  other  matters  are  deficient,  manage  their 
own  affairs.  They  are  not  generally  lacking  where  they  need 
wisdom  for  their  own  secular  benefit.  They  can  discern  the  face 
of  human  affairs  and  judge  pretty  correctly  what  will  come  to  pass. 
They,  too,  can  judge  of  the  face  of  the  sky.  They  are  worldly- 
wise,  as  well  as  weather-wise.  Yet  they  do  not  discern  the  signs 
of  the  times  in  the  moral  world.  Sad,  indeed,  is  the  stupidity  of 
man  in  this  respect.  Christ  here  upbraids  the  wise  ones  of  his 
time  and  nation,  because  they  could  see  nothing  in  the  unusual 
movements  of  his  day — in  his  teachings  and  miracles,  in  his  char- 
acter and  labors  of  love,  which  betokened  a  great  moral  revolution 
— the  establishment  of  a  new  order  of  things  in  the  religious  world. 

We  may  be  living  in  a  similar  disregard  of  the  signs  of  our  times. 

(88) 


PAGANISM.  89 

It  is  often  said  we  live  in  a  remarkable  age.  So  we  do— though 
not  exactly  in  the  sense  implied.  It  is  remarkable  as  a  prepara- 
tory season  for  a  remarkable  age.  It  was  for  this  reason  I  in- 
stituted the  proposition  in  a  former  chapter,  viz. : 

That  thQ  characteristics  of  the  present  age  indicate  the  speedy 
approach  of  the  final  and  universal  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ ;  and  by  consequence,  of  the  great  conflict  between  truth 
and  error. 

I  have  spoken  of  some  of  the  characteristics  of  our  age,  or 
signs  of  our  times.     I  shall  now  speak  of  others. 

7.  Paganism  gives  portentous  signs  of  dissolution  ;  yet  its  dis- 
solution may  not  be  expected  without  a  terrific  dying  struggle. 
Look  at  Paganism  as  it  now  is.  It  is  a  waning  system.  Into 
whatever  quarter  of  its  dark  domains  you  cast  the  eye,  you  find 
it  shorn  of  its  strength.  It  is  old,  worn  out,  decrepid  and  ready 
to  decay.  In  all  its  multifarious  developments  and  excrescences, 
it  was  formed  for  a  different  condition  of  society  and  of  the  world, 
from  what  the  world  now  presents.  Satan  originated  it  for  a  gross 
state  of  ignorance  and  barbarism.  But  the  world  has  advanced, 
and  undisguised  idolatry  is  too  gross  a  religion  for  this  advanced 
order  of  things.  Its  days  are  numbered,  not  only  on  the  page  of 
inspiration,  but  numbered  in  the  necessity  of  the  case.  The  at- 
mosphere in  which  Paganism  once  so  freely  breathed — the  soil 
on  which  it  once  took  so  deep  root  and  thrived  so  prosperously, 
has  been  changed,  and  now  its  poisonous  leaves  wither  and  its 
wide-spread  branches  are  falling  off.  No  system  of  idolatry  on 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth  is  in  its  full  force  and  youthful  vigor. 
Every  system  of  European  idolatry  has  long  since  sunk  into  the 
shades.  Scarcely  vestiges  enough  remain  to  tell  what  it  was. 
The  idolatry  of  Western  Asia,  of  Persia  and  Arabia,  has  fled 
before  the  rising  sun  of  Christianity ;  and  the  grosser  systems  of 
superstition  and  image  worship  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  have  been 


90  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

completely  overwhelmed  by  the  irresistible  tide  of  gospel  truth. 
The  principal  remaining  systems  are  those  of  Brahminism  of 
India,  and  Boodhism  of  India  and  China,  and  these  are  but  the 
mere  shadows  of  what  they  once  were.  Their  power  over  the 
minds  of  the  people  is  rather  nominal  than  real — at  least,  rather 
a  matter  of  habit  than  of  principle.  European  power,  intelligence, 
and  religion  have  come  in  upon  them  like  a  flood,  and  they  can- 
not withstand  the  invasion.  As  soon  might  you  expect  midnight 
darkness  to  tarry  before  the  rising  sun.  Everywhere  do  they 
show  marks  of  decay,  and  give  premonitions  of  a  no  remote  down- 
fall. Hundreds  of  villages  have  within  a  few  years  renounced 
the  long  established,  but  now  antiquated  religion  of  their  fathers, 
and  embraced  the  Religion  of  the  Cross. 

As  proof  of  this  assertion,  I  will  present  two  or  three  testimonies 
as  specimens  of  the  delightful  intelligence  which  is  reaching  us 
from  month  to  month. 

"  The  feeling,"  says  Mr.  Bariero, "  is  becoming  general  that  some 
extraordinary  change  is  near  at  hand,  which  is  to  be  effected  by 
the  diffusion  of  Christianity.  Well  may  the  people  look  for  such 
an  event  when  they  see  so  many  signs  of  it  in  the  neglect  of  rites 
and  ceremonies  essential  to  Hindooism.  Recently,  two  men  came 
from  a  place  not  twelve  miles  distant  to  inform  us  that  nearly  one 
thousand  persons — in  consequence  of  reading  some  of  our  tracts 
— were  desirous  of  putting  themselves  under  our  protection.  The 
same  company  mention  half  a  dozen  villages  where  a  similar  change 
has  been  produced  simply  by  the  reading  of  Christian  books." 

An  Episcopal  missionary  writing  from  Southern  India  (Mr. 
Pope),  says :  "  Since  my  appointment  here,  nine  devil  temples 
in  this  division  of  the  district  have  been  either  destroyed  or  con- 
verted into  Christian  prayer-houses ;  and  of  the  twenty-two  vil- 
lages in  connection  with  the  Episcopal  mission,  the  whole  of  the 
most  respectable  and  influential  inhabitants  are  under  instruction. 


IDOLATRY   IN   INDIA   AND    CHINA.  91 

A  few  days  ago  a  large  temple  was  made  over  to  me  within  a 
furlong's  distance  from  my  bungalow.  The  whole  utensils  of  the 
temple  have  been  brought  to  me,  and  the  property  transferred  to 
the  church  in  the  village."  The  idol  has  been  demolished — and 
the  temple  converted  into  a  church. 

And,  what  is  much  in  point,  the  Brahmins  (Hindoo  priests)  and 
the  principal  men  of  the  nation  are  engaged  in  fierce  and  fearless 
controversies  touching  the  merits  and  demerits  of  their  national 
religion.  Not  a  few  native  newspapers  are  freely  and  boldly  as- 
sailing the  mighty  colossus  of  Hindooism  in  every  vulnerable 
point,  undermining  its  foundations  and  breaking  down  its  super- 
structure. And  what  has  been  reared,  and  for  centuries  stood  in 
darkness  and  ignorance  and  cruelty  and  despotism,  must  neces- 
sarily fall  before  the  light  of  truth  and  a  religion  of  purity,  free- 
dom, light  and  love. 

The  late  withdrawal  by  the  British  Government  of  their  sup- 
port of  idolatry  in  India,  has  taken  away  the  last  substantial  prop  of 
Brahrainism  and  Boodhism  throughout  the  vast  territories  of 
England  in  the  East,  Those  systems  which  have  so  long  held  in 
thraldom  dire  one-half  the  population  of  the  globe,  need  now  only 
to  be  left  to  be  pervaded  by  the  light  of  truth  which  is  already 
profusely  shining  on  them,  and  to  the  many  and  powerful  provi- 
dential agencies*  which  are  operating  there,  to  fall  by  the  weight 
of  their  own  ignorance  and  corruption. 

The  late  act  of  toleration  of  Christianity  in  China,  by  the  em- 
peror, and  the  removing,  by  the  British  Government  in  India,  of 
the  unrighteous  and  cruel  disabilities  of  Hindoo  converts,  especi- 
ally as  touching  the  right  of  inheritance  (a  change  of  religion 

*  Such  as  commerce,  intercourse  with  Christian  nations — subjection  to  a  Christian 
government— light,  intelligence,  European  education  and  science— and  a  thousand  in- 
vasions on  their  usages  of  caste  and  religion. 


92  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

heretofore  forfeited  all  right  of  inheritance),  further  weakens  the 
hold  of  Paganism  on  the  common  mind  by  removing  obstacles  to 
the  free  action  of  the  gospel. 

Since  writing  the  above,  India,  China  and  Japan — all  those 
vast  and  populous  regions  over  which  these  two  great  systems  of 
religion  have  so  long  retained  an  iron  sway — have  undergone 
revolutions  which  presage  the  no  distant  downfall  of  idolatry. 
The  late  insurrection  in  India,  the  war  with  China,  and  the  recent 
treaty  with  Japan,  are  such  revolutions.  But  we  cannot  review 
those  events  in  this  connection.  They  deserve  a  separate  consid- 
eration, which  we  shall  give  them  by  and  by. 

These  are  signs  of  the  times,  betokening  the  approaching 
overthrow  of  this  mighty  system  of  idolatry.  And  we  speak 
advisedly  when  we  infer  that  the  teeming  millions  of  its  deluded 
votaries  (as  many  have  already  done)  wull  soon  abandon  a  sys- 
tem of  priestcraft  and  cruelty  under  which  they  have  so  long 
groaned. 

But  we  have  no  reason  to  expect  from  what  we  have  seen  in 
like  cases,  such  a  mighty  revolution  can  take  place  without  a  con- 
flict Satan  will  not  yield  his  seat  ajid  his  great  power  without  a 
struggle. 

8.  The  present  condition  of  the  Romish  Church  furnishes  an- 
other of  the  characteristics  of  our  age  which  betoken  a  great  moral 
revolution. 

The  Church  must  remain  in  the  wilderness — exist  in  a  state 
of  abandonment  by  the  world,  during  the  conjoint  spiritual  des- 
potism of  Mohammedanism  and  Popery.  The  former  spread  its 
dire  ravages  over  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Christian  Church,  and 
was  the  scourge  of  what  is  known  as  the  Greek  Church  ;  and  the 
other  breathed  its  withering  influence  over  the  western  portion. 

We  have  reason  to  believe,  both  from  prophecy  and  from  pres- 
ent appearances  of  the  Papal  power,  that  its  days  are  as  nearly 


POPERY    ON   THE    WANE    IN   THE    EAST.  93 

numbered  as  those  of  Mohammedanism.  Its  existence  is  limited 
to  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years — and  these  we  believe  are 
nearly  expired.  And,  in  accordance  with  such  a  belief,  we  find 
the  Papal  Beast  shorn  of  much  of  his  power ;  yet  maddening  and 
raving,  and  strengthening  himself  in  the  things  that  remain.  The 
court  of  the  Inquisition  has  for  the  most  part  been  disbanded  and 
its  dismal  prisons  broken  down ;  the  block,  the  stake  and  fagots, 
and  the  multifarious  and  skilfully  invented  instruments  of  torture 
and  death,  are  scarcely  known  only  as  matters  of  history.  That 
ghostly  despotism  which  once  knew  no  bounds  to  its  rapacious- 
ness  and  despotism,  rioting  on  the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  its 
countless  millions,  now  has  found  a  limit  and  meets  a  merited  re- 
buke in  the  gathering  ranks  of  a  fearless  Protestantism.  Though 
the  Pope  still  lords  it  over  the  consciences  of  a  great  multitude 
of  the  human  family,  where  his  ecclesiastical  domination  is  still 
undisputed,  yet  his  political  dominion  has  nearly  ceased,  and  is 
yearly  diminishing.  He  can  no  longer  make  and  unmake  kings, 
and  give  empires  to  whom  he  will.  His  secular  arm  is  palsied. 
He  entreats  rather  than  threatens — ^negotiates  where  he  once  co- 
erced. So  feeble,  it  is  said,  and  really  powerless  has  the  Pope  al- 
ready been  for  some  years  past,  that  but  for  the  presence  in  Italy  of  a 
large  Austrian  army,  he  would  not  have  been  safe  even  in  Rome. 
Hence  the  inference,  and  with  no  slight  probability,  that  his  Ho- 
liness feels  all  the  anxiety  he  manifests,  for  the  extension  and 
prosperity  of  the  Romish  Church  in  America.  He  may  need 
America  for  an  asylura  when  he  can  no  longer  riot  on  European 
soil. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Popery  is  on  the  wane  in  the 
Eastern  continent.  One  of  the  most  magnificent  and  extensive 
empires  that  ever  existed  was  the  Portuguese  empire  in  Asia. 
That  empire  was  but  a  province  of  the  Romish  Church.  No- 
where perhaps  has  Rome  ruled  with  more  cruel  tyranny,  over 


94  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

hundreds  of  millions  of  our  race.  The  history  of  the  Inquisition 
of  Goa  is  written  in  human  blood.  But  that  empire  now  lives 
only  in  the  annals  of  its  despotism,  intolerance,  cruelty  and  blood- 
shed. The  vast  domains,  from  the  Red  to  the  Chinese  seas,  over 
which  it  stretched,  have  been  given  into  the  hands  of  Protestants. 
Indeed,  while  Rome  is  gaining  a  few  poor  proselytes  from  Ox- 
ford and  the  ranks  of  High  Churchism,  both  in  England  and 
America,  or  from  the  ranks  of  ignorance  and  infidelity,  she  is 
elsewhere  losing  kingdoms.  Spain^  though  far  enough  from  the 
outer  limits  of  an  evangelical  religion,  is  weary  of  the  merciless 
domination  of  Rome,  and  is  seeking  to  free  herself  from  her  spir- 
itual yoke.  Debased  Portugal,  debased  by  the  "Mystery  of 
iniquity"  which  workcth  in  her,  threatens  to  throw  off  the  Pon- 
tifical authority.  Yet  Popery  is  in  still  greater  danger  from  the 
puissant  arm  of  the  Czar  of  the  Russias.  Nicholas  not  long  since 
raised  the  fearful  hand  of  persecution  against  the  Romanists  of 
his  empire — though  Nicholas  be  not  justified,  yet  Rome  is  hum- 
bled:* "They  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword." 
As  they  have  measured  to  others,  so  shall  it  be  measured  to  them. 
Yet,  perhaps,  the  most  portentous  sign  of  Babylon's  approach- 
ing fall  is  to  be  seen  in  the  progress  of  Protestantism  and  evan- 
gelical religion  in  certain  Catholic  countries  in  Europe.  Whole 
communes  in  France  have  recently  renounced  their  allegiance  to 
the  Pope  and  embraced  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  The  gospel 
is  preached  by  faithful  and  self-denying  evangelists,  and  the  doc- 
trines-of  a  pure  Christianity  are  inculcated  by  the  books  and  un- 
tiring labors  of  colporteurs  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
this  great  Catholic  country,  and  with  the  most  cheering  success. 
But  what  is  the  most  distinctive  sign  of  the  times  is  the  conversion 


*The  supposition  that  the  autocrat  of  Russia  shall  humble  Rome,  does  not  neces- 
sarily militate  against  our  theory,  that  Russia  and  Rome  shall  finally  join  hands  in  the 
last  great  day  of  conflict.    Herod  and  PUate  shall  in  that  day  be  made  friends. 


EVANGELICAL    WORK    IN   FRANCE.  95 

from  Roraanisrn  of  so  many  Romish  priests.  While  Rome,  from 
a  sense  of  her  own  weakness,  no  doubt,  and  her  inability  much 
longer  to  hold  control  over  the  minds  of  her  deluded  millions  by 
any  thing  like  fair  and  open  means,  has  called  again  to  her  aid 
her  Janizaries,  the  Jesuits,  and  found  it  necessary  to  return  to 
some  of  her  grossest  and  most  shameful  superstitions,  such  as  the 
exhibition  of  a  pretended  garment  of  Christ,  and  other  marvels 
quite  as  sensible.  On  the  other  hand,  her  more  intelligent  priests 
leave  her  communion  in  disgust.  Scores  of  Romish  priests  have 
renounced  Rome  within  the  last  ten  years,  and  it  is  believed  that 
numbers  more  wait  but  for  a  favorable  opportunity.  In  a  single 
"  department  (Saintonge),  no  less  than  forty  parishes  are  open  to 
the  labors  of  evangelists."  In  another  department,  says  a  French 
paper,  thirty ^ine  parishes  have  rejected  the  mass,  and  are  long- 
ing for  the  Bible  and  a  Christian  ministry."  "  More  than  one 
hundred  places  in  France  are  calling  for  evangelical  ministers — 
and  the  number  is  increasing  rapidly." 

Such  are  but  specimens  of  the  evangelical  work  now  going  on 
in  France — all  tending  to  undermine  Rome  in  her  stronghold. 

**  Never,"  says  Mr.  Roussel,  a  celebrated  French  pastor,  "  have 
the  Roman  Catholic  people  been  more  disgusted  with  the  super- 
stitions of  their  Church  and  the  avarice  of  their  priests,  than  at 
present ;  and  never  has  there  been  a  more  favorable  opportunity 
of  declaring  the  gospel  to  them."  And  it  is  a  presage  of  much 
good  that  this  opportunity  is  altogether  lost.  Says  a  late  re- 
port of  the  Foreign  and  Evangelical  Society :  "  There  are  few 
villages  in  France,  if  any,  where  the  word  of  God  has  not  been 
offered  and  in  which  some  copies  have  not  been  left.  And  though 
the  priests  may  burn  the  Book  of  Life,  and  utter  a  thousand  lies 
against  it,  the  people  begin  to  perceive  that  the  Romish  religion 
and  the  Bible  cannot  exist  together."  Two  hundred  thousand 
copies  of  the  Bible  have  been  distributed  in  France  the  past  year, 


96  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

and  almost  wholly  among  Roman  Catholics.     But  Rome  and  the 
Bible  cannot  live  together ! ! 

More  than  six  hundred  persons,  the  entire  inhabitants  of  com- 
mune (Villefavart),  were  last  year  converted  to  Protestantism  by 
the  simple  reading  of  the  Scriptures — and  this  in  the  face  of  the 
most  violent  opposition  of  the  Romish  priests. 

But  more  remarkable  and  significant  yet  are  the  present  relig- 
ious movements  in  France  and  Ireland.  In  those  countries,  so 
long  and  so  decidedly  given  over  to  Rome,  the  Spirit  is  poured 
out  from  on  high.  Whole  counties  are  pervaded  by  the  blessed 
influences,  and  revivals,  characterized  by  all  the  general  features 
which  distinguish  the  late  revivals  in  our  own  land,  are  this  day 
in  progress  there.  Sinners  are  awakened,  convicted  and  converted, 
and  great  numbers  are  added  to  the  Church.  We  have  met 
nothing  before  which  looks  so  much  like  the  predicted  end  of  the 
Man  of  Sin.  The  Lord  shall  consume  him  with  the  Spirit  of  his 
mouthy  and  destroy  him  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming.  The 
Papacy  can  withstand  any  thing  but  such  a  revelation  of  God's 
Spirit,  and  of  his  word.  The  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
preaching  of  the  word  is  wonderfully  fulfilling  the  prophecy  in 
these  countries. 

And  the  Papacy  has  been  scarcely  less  seriously  galled  by  the 
arrows  of  God's  Truth,  in  Belgium  and  Switzerland,  and  more 
recently  in  Tuscany.  In  Belgium  more  than  250,000  copies  of 
the  Bible,  and  a  larger  quantity  of  Christian  tracts  and  books, 
have  been  distributed  within  the  last  fifteen  years.  In  Tuscany 
the  word  is  having  free  course,  and  we  may  be  sure  it  will  be  glo- 
rified. 

Ominous  signs  of  coming  change  have  from  time  to  time  ap- 
peared in  the  Romish  communion.  Ever  and  anon  oppressed 
humanity,  pressed  beyond  the  point  of  endurance,  boldly  resists. 
Such  an  outburst  of  resistance  transpired  a  few  years  since  in 


JOHN  RONGE A  NEW  CHURCH  FORMED.        97 

Germany,  under  the  leadership  of  Ronge  and  Czarski ;  and  may- 
be repeated  in  this  country,  under  the  leadership  of  Father 
Chiniquy,  of  Illinois. 

A  few  yeai's  since  (Oct.  1844),  John  Ronge,  Catholic  priest  in 
Germany,  roused  to  indignation  by  the  audacious  conduct  of  Bishop 
Arnoldi,  of  Treves,  in  exhibiting  for  pay  to  great  multitudes  of 
people  (500,000)  an  old  coat,  which  he  impiously  called  the  coat  of 
Christ,  issued  a  most  spirited  letter  to  the  Bishop  and  the  people  of 
his  charge,  in  which  he  speaks  in  merited  and  unmeasured  terms  of 
rebuke  of  the  shameless  imposition  and  traffic,  and  calls  on  his  cler- 
ical brethren  to  arouse  and  throw  off  the  despotism  of  Rome,  and 
emulate  the  noble  spirits  of  Huss,  Hutten  and  Luther. 

The  consequence  of  this  bold,  Luther-like  movement  was  to 
rouse  the  Catholic  mind  in  Germany  in  a  degree  unknown  since 
the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Ronge  raised  a 
giant's  voice  and  wielded  a  giant's  power.  Immense  crowds  sur- 
rounded him  where  he  went,  and  though  priests  and  political  power, 
and  prejudice  and  superstition  and  ignorance  most  bitterly  op- 
posed him,  and  the  Papal  Beast  was  ready  to  stamp  him  under 
foot,  yet  his  cause  lived  and  prospered.  It  gathered  strength 
daily,  and  carried  terror  to  the  very  heart  of  Rome. 

A  new  Church  was  formed,  called  the  German  Catholic  Church, 
protesting  against  the  errors,  corruptions,  superstitions  and  fool- 
eries of  Rome,  and  incorporating  much  of  Protestant  and  Bible 
truth.  It  embraced  a  large  number  of  clergy  and  people  of  Ger^ 
many. 

Though  this  movement  did  not  mature  into  the  full  realization 
hoped  for,  and  by  many  confidently  expected,  yet  it  was  a  move- 
ment in  the  right  direction,  but  not  altogether  of  the  right  spirit 
It  was  lacking  in  the  evangelical  element.  There  was  something 
of  Luther's  soul  in  it,  without  Luther's  holy  fire.  The  movement 
was  not  sufficiently  pervaded  with  the  gospel,  and  evangelical 
7 


9B  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

piety.  Yet  it  was  not  a  vain  effort.  As  a  bold  protest,  as  an  un- 
compromising resistance  against  error  and  corruption,  it  fulfilled 
a  mission ;  it  struck  a  blow  at  the  colossus  of  Rome  which  she 
will  not  cease  to  feel.  Germany  has  felt  it.  It  was  a  blow  for 
freedom. 

Nor  was  the  wonderful  movement  by  any  means  confined  to 
Germany.  "  Not  only,"  says  a  late  account,  "  it  seems  to  be 
diffusing  itself  into  all  parts  of  that  country,  but  it  is  spreading 
even  into  Barvaria  and  Austria,  which  are  the  most  Roman 
Catholic  countries  in  all  Germany."  It  found  its  way  into  Poland, 
into  the  PoHsh  part  of  Prussia,  and  gave  no  doubtful  symptoms 
of  a  speedy  eruption  in  France.  Nor  did  poor  Italy  lie  prostrate 
beneath  the  vandal  foot  of  the  Beast  without  giving  some  signs 
of  struggling  life.  The  late  movements  there  in  favor  of  political 
liberty,  instigated  by  the  galling  of  the  yoke  of  ecclesiastical  bon- 
dage, are  but  the  sympathetic  struggles  which  Papal  Europe  is 
making  to  be  free. 

I  referred  to  the  movement  at  St.  Anne's,  Illinois,  under  the 
leadership  of  Father  Chiniquy.  It  may  be  premature  yet  to  ex- 
press an  opinion  as  to  what  shall  come  of  this  movement.  It  is 
a  bold  and  noble  protest  and  resistance  against  the  unwarrantable 
oppressions  of  Rome.  It  will  do  a  work — probably  will  accom- 
plish something  important  in  the  right  direction ;  "  and  though 
Father  Chiniquy  may  not  be  the  Luther  for  whom  we  look,  yet 
he  may  be  a  Wickliffe,  or  a  Knox,  gathering  materials,  securing 
resources,  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  great  and  final  work. 
God  takes  time — seldom  begins  and  finishes  a  work  by  the  same 
agent,  or  in  the  same  generation.  One  sows  and  another  reaps. 
He  employs  a  succession  of  agents,  as  from  step  to  step  the 
work  goes  forward,  till  it  draws  near  to  its  consummation ;  then  he 
raises  up  some  controlling  spirit  who  finishes  the  work  Moses, 
Luther,  Washington,  were  selected  for  their  respective  missions, 


EFFECTS    OF    THE    LATE    WAR    IN    ITALY.  99 

and  brought  on  the  great  theatre  of  action,  just  in  time  to  give 
completion  to  their  work. 

In  due  time  our  Luther  will  come.  The  great  and  final  blow 
will  be  struck,  and  great  Babylon  will  fall. 

The  late  war  in  Italy  has  largely  contributed  to  the  same  long- 
looked  for  result.  Ostensibly,  it  has  done  much  in  breaking  down 
barriers,  removing  obstacles,  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Bible  and  a  preached  gospel  in  Sardinia,  and  the  na- 
tions of  northern  Italy.  Yet,  really,  it  has  done  more,  in  destroy- 
ing the  prestige  of  an  old  order  of  things  in  religion  and  in  poli- 
tics, which,  incubus-like,  had  settled  down  on  those  nationalities, 
like  the  curse  of  the  apostasy.  The  leaven  is  at  work.  The 
effervescence  may  be  terrible.     The  result  will  be  sure. 

Switzerland,  too,  is  a  volcano,  heaving  from  its  very  centre. 
One  hundred  and  fifty  ministers  in  the  canton  of  Vaud^  no  longer 
able  to  endure  the  exactions  and  control  of  the  Neological  Church 
authorities,  have  formally  separated  themselves  from  their  con- 
nection, and,  like  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  become  inde- 
pendent. They  have  given  up  their  sanctuaries,  parsonages  and 
salaries,  that  they  may  have  liberty  of  conscience. 

Again  Rome  shows  another  sign.  She  madly  presumes,  in  some 
quarters,  to  raise  the  hand  of  persecution,  and  again  to  play  the 
tyrant  and  oppressor.  I  refer  to  the  infamous  transactions  of  the 
agents  of  Rome  at  the  Society  and  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the 
scarcely  less  alarming  indications  in  France  herself.  The  un- 
offending inhabitants  of  these  Islands  were  compelled,  at  the  can- 
non's mouth,  to  receive  and  protect  the  very  emissaries  of  the  Beast, 
and  to  give  place,  on  a  soil  already  consecrated  to  a  holy  Religion, 
to  the  temples  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity,  and  in  addition  to  this, 
to  give  countenance  to  a  trafiic  in  intoxicating  drinks,  which  once 
spread  desolation  over  those  fair  Isles. 

Such  is  the  spirit  of  Romanism  at  this  very  day.     Shorn  of 


100  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

its  temporal  power,  it  cannot  depose  kings  and  trample  down  em- 
pires as  it  did,  yet  it  will  still  trample  on  the  weak  with  the  same 
cruel  oppression,  and  drink  the  blood  of  saints  with  the  same 
zest,  wherever  it  can. 

But  why  speak  of  the  remote  Islands?  The  same  things, 
marked  if  possible  by  more  violence  and  hatred  of  the  truth, 
have  transpired  in  Madeira,  Madagascar,  and  in  semiprotestant 
France.  The  late  relentless  persecutions  of  Dr.  Achilli,  and  the 
Madiai,  are  illustrations  of  the  spirit  of  modern  Rome. 

There  is  evidently  a  movement  of  the  Beast,  which  presages  a 
convulsion,  indicating  weakness  at  the  centre,  and  a  struggle  to 
renew  life  at  the  extremities.  Dreadful  as  the  great  conflict  shall 
be,  we  may  hope  it  shall  be  the  last. 

It  may  be  that  Rome  feels  her  seven  hills  trembling  beneath 
the  ponderous  excrescence  of  papal  tyranny  and  corruption.  It 
may  be  that  she  feels  that  Rome — that  Europe  is  not  the  place  for 
the  Mystery  of  Iniquity  longer  to  work,  it  having  worked  there 
so  long  already.  Or  it  may  be  that  His  Holiness  feels  himself, 
in  Italy,  too  much  shut  out  from  the  great  centre  of  the  world, 
commercial,  civil,  literary  or  religious,  and  too  much  removed 
from  the  further  sympathies  of  European  Governments  much 
longer  to  be  sustained ;  and  for  any  or  all  of  these  reasons,  he 
would  fain  try  his  fortune  in  the  New  World. 

As  a  forlorn  hope,  he  may  be  looking  across  the  Atlantic  for  a 
retreat.  Nor  is  it  althogether  unlikely  that  such  a  plan  may  be 
carried  into  execution,  and  that  the  American  Church  may  yet 
feel  the  power  of  that  scourge  which  has  been  so  severely  felt 
by  the  Church  in  the  Old  World.  May  God  avert  such  a  calam- 
ity. But  should  it  come,  it  is  no  more  than  our  ingratitude  and 
short-coming  in  duty  deserves,  and  no  more  than  the  present  state 
of  the  Romish  Church  seems  to  demand.  The  very  struggle 
Rome  finds  it  necessary  to  make  for  the  preservation  of  her 


HIERARCHY    OF    ENGLAND    AND    SCOTLAND.  101 

waning  power,  is  the  best  evidence  of  her  weakness.  She  is  now 
rousing  her  wasting  energies  for  one  more  desperate  effort  before 
she  meet  her  doom,  which  hastens  on  apace.  Such  renewed 
efforts  have  been  made  in  India,  China,  and  Japan ;  and  recently 
it  was  reported  that  a  French  general  had  gone  to  Rome  to  an- 
nounce to  the  Pope  that  the  Emperor  of  Burmah  will  not  only 
tolerate,  but  encourage  and  aid  Catholic  missions  throughout  his 
empire.  The  emperor  has  built  at  his  own  cost  spacious  schools, 
and  will  provide  funds  for  the  support  of  the  European  professors 
who  will  be  attached  to  them.  He  is  about  to  erect  a  hospital 
to  be  administered  by  French  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  means  to 
build  churches  where  the  converts  are  sufficiently  numerous. 

9.  Another  indication  of  a  great  moral  revolution,  is  the  recent 
shaking  of  the  Hierarchy  of  England  and  Scotland. 

The  religious  establishment  of  England,  especially,  has  grown 
to  an  enormous  stature.  We  have  no  occasion  to  discuss  the  ex- 
pediency of  a  National  Religion.  It  is  enough  for  our  present 
purpose  to  allude  to  some  of  its  excrescences.  It  doubtless  in- 
corporates much  in  its  system  which  must  be  done  away  before 
the  coming  of  the  latter  day  of  glory.  And  He  who  ariseth  to 
shake  terribly  the  earth,  is  now  shaking  this  establishment  to  its 
centre.  It  has  long  been  conceded  by  the  evangelical  part  of 
the  Church  that  there  is  imperative  need  of  Church  Reform. 
But  recent  developments  have  shown  that  the  evils  complained 
of  are  not  so  superficial  as  was  supposed.  There  are  causes 
already  there  at  work,  which  go  a  great  way  to  confirm  the  idea 
advanced  under  a  former  head,  that  before  the  much  desired 
downfall  of  Papal  Rome,  the  Man  of  Sin  will  increase  in  power, 
ancient  error  will  be  revived  under  new  and  specious  forms,  and 
truth  and  righteousness  experience  such  a  conflict  with  sin  as 
has  never  yet  been  known.  Both  in  England  and  America  there 
are  many  such  indications.     But  what  I  more  particularly  allude 


102  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

to  here  is,  the  recent  Theological  movement  at  the  University  of 
Oxford,  England. 

This  ancient,  rich  and  learned  Institution,  over  whose  enchant- 
ing grounds,  and  within  whose  venerated  walls,  and  through  whose 
extensive  and  costly  libraries  the  writer  once  had  the  pleasure  to 
roam,  has  long  been  the  rallying  point,  as  well  as  the  radiating 
point  of  Church  of  Englandism.  But  as  you  now  catch  the  sound 
from  those  high  battlements  of  Zion's  walls,  surely  you  hear  not 
the  voice  of  "  Protest "  against  the  "  Mystery  of  iniquity  "  that 
worketh  in  the  spiritual  Babylon ;  but  it  is  the  well-known  voice 
of  the  Beast. 

Some  years  ago.  Dr.  Pusey,  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew 
and  Canon  of  Christ  Church  in  that  University,  began  to  publish 
certain  new  and  startling  doctrines  in  what  were  called  "  Tracts 
for  the  times."  In  these  he  apologized  for  the  errors  of  Popery 
— called  the  Romish  Church  the  elder  sister  of  Episcopacy,  whose 
faults  are  to  be  treated  with  much  tenderness ;  and  advanced  sen- 
timents diametrically  opposed  to  the  Reformation.  He  indeed 
speaks  of  Protestantism  as  a  thing  much  to  be  lamented,  and  the 
Reformation  as  a  misjudged  act. 

Such  sentiments,  too,  have  met  the  sympathy  and  support  of 
other  principal  Professors  of  the  University. 

At  first  these  innovations — or  rather  this  attempt  to  revive  old 
popish  and  ancient  errors — attracted  little  attention,  and  did  not 
excite  much  alarm;  but  within  the  last  few  years,  they  have 
spread  with  astonishing  rapidity  into  almost  every  part  of  the 
English  Church.  Many  of  the  high  dignitaries  of  that  Church 
have  avowed  these  principles  ;  and  some  of  the  most  popular  and 
widely  circulated  periodicals  of  England  give  them  currency. 

In  these  Tracts  the  great  and  distinguishing  Protestant  doc- 
trine of  Justification  by  faith  is  denied,  and  branded  as  the 
offspring  of  fanaticism ;  while  the  old  Romish  doctrine  of  Bap- 


FEARFUL    SHOCK    TO    EPISCOPACY.  103 

tismal  Regeneration  is  openly  avowed.  Prayers  for  the  dead, 
the  worship  of  saints  and  angels,  belief  in  Purgatory,  crossings, 
holy  water,  festivals  and  fasts,  and  perhaps  the  whole  routine  of 
Romish  rites  and  observances  are  gradually  being  introduced. 
Indeed,  the  design  seems  to  be  to  resuscitate  as  fast  as  the  people 
will  bear  it  the  rites  and  tenets  against  which  Luther  and  the  Re- 
formers of  Germany  and  England  so  strenuously  contended,  and 
to  oppose  which  rivers  of  Protestant  blood  have  flown. 

And  what  is  a  more  sad  and  alarming  sign  of  the  times,  the 
religious  state  of  England  is  such  that  a  no  inconsiderable  portion 
of  the  Established  Church  is  prepared  to  embrace  a  system  so 
delusive  and  destructive. 

These  things  are  portentous  of  what  may  shortly  be.  Amidst 
the  general  convulsion,  the  fabric  of  Episcopacy  is  receiving 
a  fearful  shock.  It  may  be  rent  in  twain— or,  more,  it  may  be 
demolished,  and  the  tottering  Church  of  Rome  be  pillared  on  its 
ruins. 

And  fain  would  I  add  that  America  is  not  infected  with  this 
poison.  Already  have  its  pestiferous  streams  found  their  way 
across  the  Atlantic.  The  leaven  is  at  work  here.  Admirers  of 
Oxford,  who  do  not  fear  to  commend  the  Popery  of  Protestant 
Oxford,  are  not  few  on  our  side  of  the  water.  Nor  did  tliis  new 
flood  from  the  mouth  of  the  dragon  find  the  Church  in  question 
so  well  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  truth  and  so  fortified  by  habits 
of  unadorned  piety  as  not  to  be  overcome.  Not  a  small  portion 
of  the  laity,  and  a  large  portion  of  her  clergy  have  embraced  the 
fascinating  dogmas  of  Oxford.  A  test  question  (relating  to  the 
ordination  of  a  young  man  who  had  one  foot  in  Rome  and  was 
willing  to  put  the  other  there)  arose  a  few  years  ago,  which  leaves 
no  room  to  doubt  that  a  decided  majority  of  the  largest,  richest 
and  most  influential  Episcopal  Convention  in  this  country  are  the 
friends  of  Pusey  and  Oxford.     And  what  is  found  true  there, 


104  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    TKE    WORLD. 

would  probably  not  be  found  untrue  elsewhere  if  the  test  were 
applied. 

Eomanism  gives  ominous  signs  that  she  is  rallying  for  the  great 
struggle. 

No  one  can  have  been  a  careful  observer  of  European  history, 
for  the  last  lialf  century,  without  observing  the  strange  advances 
of  the  Papal  power  in  countries  professedly  Protestant.  Although 
as  a  political  system  it  has  lost  its  hold,  as  an  ecclesiastical  power 
it  seems  endowed  with  a  strange  vitality.  Three  centuries-  since, 
the  clouds  of  superstition  seemed  to  have  almost  entirely  receded 
from  Central  and  Western  Europe.  But  the  dark  shadow  seems 
returning  again.  Puseyism  counts  its  beads  and  mutters  its  mum- 
meries in  the  very  sanctuaries  that  once  listened  to  the  truths  of 
a  primitive  gospel.  Mysticism  and  infidehty  dispute  the  sway  of 
the  German  mind,  with  a  State  religion,  Papal  in  every  thing  but 
in  name.  The  very  cities  where  Luther  preached,  and  Melancthon 
wrote,  now  boast  their  priests  and  their  Romish  conventicles.  All 
over  Western  Europe,  the  emissaries  of  the  Papal  hierarchy 
seem  to  be  fast  regaining  the  soil  from  which  the  Reformation  so 
lately  expelled  them.  "  How,"  says  an  able  writer,  "  is  this  phe- 
nomenon to  be  explained  ?  In  what  manner  may  we  account  for 
the  startling  fact,  that  amid  the  blaze  of  science,  the  spread  of 
education,  the  wide  diffusion  of  intelligence,  the  awakened  spirit 
of  inquiry  and  of  progress ;  in  lands  blessed  with  an  open  Bible, 
a  free  gospel,  and  all  the  appliances  of  religious  instruction,  an 
old  tottering  hierarchy,  foul  with  pollution,  laden  with  abhorred 
memories,  and  reeking  with  the  blood  of  murdered  saints,  should 
come  forth  from  the  gloom  of  the  dark  past,  and  flaunting  its 
tattered  traditions  in  the  eyes  of  the  nineteenth  century,  be  wel- 
comed and  embraced  ?  " 

The  solution  of  the  difficulty  doubtless  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
Beast  is  allowed  to  rally  his  already  decayed  energies  for  the  final 


THE    KIRK    OF    SCOTLAND.  105 

encounter.  The  great  apostasy  has  always,  when  it  could,  been  a 
persecuting  power.  Its  terrific  mission  has  been  to  make  war 
with  the  saints  and  to  kill  them.  And  before  it  shall  be  finally 
overcome,  he  shall  rise  in  great  wrath,  because  he  knows  his  time 
is  short. 

Another  kind  of  process  has  been  going  on  in  the  Kirk  of  Scot- 
land. Already  has  the  work  of  the  divorce  of  Church  and  State 
begun,  and  going  forward  with  rapid  and  irresistible  strides  ;  and 
probably  the  ball  of  revolution,  started  on  the  heights  of  the 
Grampian  Hills,  will  never  be  stopped,  frill,  gathering  magnitude 
and  strength  as  it  advances,  it  shall  prostrate  before  it  every  proud 
tower  of  hierarchal  domination. 

The  Kirk  of  Scotland,  though  Presbyterian,  has,  since  the 
union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  been  Uke  the  Church  of  England 
and  Ireland,  a  National  Church  ;  and  as  such,  no  particular  parish 
could  choose  their  own  minister,  or  transact  their  own  ecclesias- 
tical affairs  unmolested  by  Government.  The  Patron  or  lord  of 
the  Manor — the  owner  in  a  sense  of  the  peasants  or  working  people 
and  of  the  lands  they  occupied,  has  the  ecclesiastical  right  of 
choosing  and  imposing  on  a  parish  such  a  one  as  he  will ;  and  the 
only  alternative  the  Church  and  Society  have,  is  either  to  retain 
and  support  a  man  who  is  offensive  to  them,  or  reject  him  at  the 
hazard  of  a  legal  prosecution,  yet  still  support  him — and  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  support  the  man  of  their  choice. 

To  many  parishes  these  burdens  became  intolerable.  A  manly 
— a  Scottish  resistance  was  made,  which  has  resulted  in  a  large 
secession  and  the  organization  of  a  new  Church,  on  independent 
und  evangelical  grounds.  And  it  is  predicted  that  a  Reform  is 
there  began,  which  shall  not  stop  till  every  Church  in  the  British 
Isles  shall  be  disenthralled  from  the  trammels  of  the  State  and 
be  made  free  with  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 

10.  We  must  not  overlook  another  characteristic  of  our  times 


106  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

of  an  opposite  character :  I  mean  the  stupidity  and  listlessness  of 
the  wicked  at  a  period  like  the  present. 

The  period  preceding  the  great  conflict  is  thus  described  by 
Daniel :  "  Many  shall  be  purified  and  made  white  and  tried,  but 
the  wicked  shall  do  wickedly ;  and  none  of  the  wicked  shall  under- 
stand, but  the  wise  shall  understand."  Even  in  the  midst  of  such 
superabundance  of  light,  the  wicked  shall  walk  in  darkness — in 
the  midst  of  extraordinary  privileges  they  shall  remain  unmoved, 
uninstructed,  unprofited.  While  the  truth  is  proclaimed  about 
them  and  enforced  upon  them  they  remain  stupid  and  unconcerned 
as  the  marble.  It  is  not  open  infidelity,  but  a  listlessness,  which 
admits  the  necessity  of  religion  and  assents  to  the  truth,  yet  in- 
dulges in  its  stupidity.  No  effort  seems  to  reach  them.  Preach- 
ing is  powerless — exhortation  unavailing — judgments  ineffectual, 
mercies  unheeded — death  does  not  move  a  muscle.  This  is  but 
too  true  of  a  large  class  of  the  ungodly :  none  of  the  wicked  shaU 
understand.  They  will  harden  their  hearts  and  blind  their  eyes 
that  they  may  perish. 

The  extensive  religious  revivals  of  modern  days  present  another 
evidence  which  identifies  our  age  with  the  age  that  should  precede 
the  final  triumph  of  the  Church.  Great  numbers  shall  be  gath- 
ered in,  and  many  shall  be  zealous  for  God  before  that  great  and 
notable  day  of  the  Lord  shall  come.  But  this  is  a  topic  which  has 
already  assumed  an  importance  as  a  sign  of  the  times,  and  an 
efficient  agency  in  the  great  moral  revolutions  which  are  coming 
on  the  earth,  that  has  placed  it  among  the  great  and  leading  move- 
ments of  the  day.  We  shall  therefore  assign  to  it  a  separate 
place  of  consideration. 


CHAPTER  Vni. 

Mohammedanism :  giving  no  doubtful  signs  of  coming  change — The  char- 
acter, mission  and  destiny  of  Moslemism — The  late  war  and  its  results — 
Eleventh  sign. 

"  I  will  tJhow  wonders  in  heaven  above,  and  signs  in  the  earth  beneath ;  blood,  and  fixe, 
and  yapor  of  smoke :  the  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood, 
before  that  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  come." — Acts  ii.  19,  20. 

"  The  day  of  the  Lord "  is  a  day  when  God  shall  vindicate 
his  cause  and  magnify  his  name — the  day  of  the  manifestation  of 
his  power  and  the  execution  of  his  judgments.  And  the  "  great 
and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  "  is  a  period  when  he  shall  do  this  in 
an  extraordinary  degree.  Every  deliverance  of  his  people — every 
instance  of  his  executing  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  may  be  termed 
the  day  of  the  Lord.  But  when  he  does  this  in  a  signal  manner, 
it  is  the  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord.  The  deliverance  of 
the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  and  the  corresponding  inflic- 
tion of  wrath  on  his  enemies  was  a  day  of  the  Lord.  So  was  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  preservation  of  the  people  of 
God,  in  that  awful  event. 

This  is  particularly  what  is  meant  here.  But  as  in  general  it 
means  any  period  when   God  signally  manifests  himself — and, 

(107) 


108  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

more  emphatically  than  any  other,  the  judgment-day,  I  shall  not 
be  deviating  from  the  spirit  of  the  passage  if  I  apply  it  to  that 
gi'eat  conflict  of  sin  against  righteousness,  and  the  consequent 
vindication  of  his  cause  on  the  part  of  God,  which  shall  take 
place  previous  to  the  complete  establishment  of  Messiah's  king- 
dom on  earth. 

"  I  will  show  wonders  in  heaven  above,  and  signs  in  the  earth 
beneath" — great  changes  and  wonderful  events  both  in  the  Church 
and  out  of  it — "  Blood,  and  fire,  and  vapor  of  smoke" — wars,  calam- 
ities, conflagration  of  towns.  "  The  sun  shall  be  turned  into  dark- 
ness, and  the  moon  into  blood" — such  calamitous  events  as  shall  then 
transpire  shall  cast  a  gloom  over  the  moral  and  political  world, 
such  as  resembles  that  dismal  appearance  of  the  atmosphere  when 
the  sun  is  eclipsed,  or  the  moon  is  shorn  of  her  silver  brightness 
by  a  thick  haze  or  a  dense  vapor.  Such  shall  be  the  gloomy  as- 
pect of  the  world  before  the  eventful  period,  called  the  "  great 
and  notable  day  of  the  Lord."  But  soon  after  there  shall  be  a 
period  of  a  very  different  character.  A  change  comes  over  the 
scene.  The  darkness  is  dissipated — the  vapor  is  cleared  away 
— the  blood  dried  up — the  fire  is  quenched.  Peace  smiles  again. 
Prosperity  shines.  Righteousness  reigns.  The  period  is  de- 
scribed in  these  words :  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become 
the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ." 

There  is  a  general  expectation  that  such  a  period  is  at  hand  ; 
and  the  expectation  seems  but  a  simple  response  of  ancient  pro- 
phecy. It  is  becoming  then  that  we  should  read  these  signs,  un- 
derstand their  import,  and  be  prepared  for  the  coming  of  the 
"  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord."  The  aspect  of  the  world  is 
peculiar,  and  such  as  to  indicate  a  mighty  convulsion  as  not  dis- 
tant. What  this  shall  be,  we  should,  if  not  aided  by  the  light  of 
prophecy,  be  quite  unable  to  form  a  conjecture.  But  with  this 
Divine  guidance,  we  more  than  conjecture  it  shall  be  the  last 


DOWNFALL    OP   THE    TURKISH   EMPIRE.  109 

great  conflict  of  sin  against  holiness  which  shall  precede  the  Mil- 
lennium. 

I  shall  name  other  "  signs  of  the  times"  which  indicate  the  ap- 
proach and  prepare  the  way  of  the  coming  of  the  great  event. 
And  the  next  that  claims  our  attention,  as  verified  in  our  present 
age,  is— 

11.  The  present  condition  of  the  Mohammedan  Empire.  Con- 
stantinople, the  present  centre  and  head  of  Mohammedan  power, 
is  the  keystone  of  dominion  in  the  great  world  of  religion  and 
politics.  Any  movements,  therefore,  in  that  quarter  are  especially 
ominous  of  coming  change.  What  we  assert  is,  that  present  ap- 
pearances indicate  the  no  remote  downfall  of  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire and  the  Mohammedan  religion,  and  the  consequent  pleasing, 
dreadful,  humiliating,  glorious  results  of  that  great  event. 

Satan  has  always  been  careful  to  keep  organized  against  the 
true  Church  of  God  some  mighty  confederacies  and  counterfeits. 
The  spirit  of  this  hostility  has  been  essentially  the  same  in  all  ages 
of  the  world,  though  it  has  worn  a  form  suited  to  the  times,  places, 
and  the  condition  of  the  Church.  Before  the  rise  of  the  Sun  of 
righteousness — or  the  introduction  of  the  Christian  dispensation. 
Paganism  presented  a  sufficient  barrier  against  a  holy  religion. 
The  Church  then  was  less  aggressive,  less  powerful  and  diffusive, 
and  presented  less  to  the  eyes  of  the  world  which  could  excite 
alarms  or  engender  fears.  "With  the  exception  of  a  few  insignifi- 
cant spots,  Satan  sat  entrenched  in  the  strongholds  of  idolatry 
over  the  whole  face  of  the  earth.  Gross,  absurd  and  corrupt  as 
Paganism  was,  it  was  not  too  much  so  to  be  allowed  to  stand  in 
an  equally  corrupt  world.  The  world's  morality  was  then  such 
as  could  tolerate  it.  But  Christianity  threw  a  new  light  over 
the  world.  There  was  now  a  grand  moral  advance.  The  Church 
was  enlarged  and  enlightened.  It  was  more  holy  and  powerful. 
It  now  became  aggressive.     During  the  life  of  its  Divine  author, 


110  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

it  began  to  overstep  its  former  prescribed  boundaries ;  and  at  his 
death,  astonishment  must  have  seized  the  foes  of  the  true  Church 
to  hear  him  issue  the  command,  clothed  in  the  power  and  bap- 
tized with  the  affection  of  a  dying  request,  that  his  followers  should 
never  cease  their  aggressions  till  they  should  subjugate  the  entire 
earth  to  the  dominion  of  Immanuel. 

This  was  alarming,  but  it  did  not  immediately  give  the  alarm. 
Earthly  dominion  was  then  in  the  hands  of  Paganism,  and  in  a 
few  years  it  became  more  so  by  the  subjugation  of  the  Jewish 
nation  to  th«  Romans.  The  great  author  of  Christianity  was 
dead — he  had  died  an  ignominious  death.  The  spell  that  held 
the  disciples  together  seemed  broken — their  number  was  so  small, 
their  condition  so  humble-r-the  reputation  in  which  they  were  held 
so  low,  that  the  most  timid  in  the  ranks  of  the  foe  felt  no  alarm. 
But  to  the  utter  confusion  of  the  world,  Christianity  lived  and 
prospered.  After  a  little  while  it  was  heard  of  in  Arabia,  in 
Mesopotamia,  in  Asia  Minor,  in  Athens,  Corinth,  and  in  Rome. 
And  behold  it  has  appeared  in  the  very  household  of  Gcesar. 

This,  however,  gave  no  very  general  alarm.  The  apathy  which 
the  empire  of  sin  had  acquired  by  its  centuries  of  undisturbed 
dominion  was  not  yet  broken.  At  length  it  is  proclaimed  that 
the  hated  religion  of  the  Nazarene  has  appeared  in  the  forum — 
in  the  council-chamber,  and  in  the  hall  of  legislation — in  the  pub- 
lic arena  of  the  bustling  world,  and  in  the  walks  of  private  life — 
in  the  halls  of  science  and  among  the  humblest  cottages  of  the 
hamlet,  yea,  that  scribes  and  Pharisees,  high  priests  and  rulers, 
kings  and  emperors,  were  numbered  among  its  disciples;  and  the 
enemy  began  to  be  alarmed.  The  besiegers  were  brought  to  the 
very  gates  of  his  stronghold. 

At  length  the  great  Constantine  is  born.  He  is  converted  to 
Christianity — espouses  the  cause  of  Christ ;  Christianity  is  known 
in  the  palace,  and  anon  it  is  the  religion  of  the  Roman  Empire. 


RISE    OF   MOHAMMEDANISM.  Ill 

Hitherto  the  Enemy  had  looked  on  with  astonishment,  wonder- 
ing whereunto  this  thing  would  grow,  yet  believing  that  the  bloody 
mouth  of  Persecution,  which  stood  ready  to  glut  his  insatiable 
maw  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  could  not  fail  to  exterminate  the 
rising  sect.  Paganism,  which  had  for  ages  stood  an  impregnable 
bulwark  against  all  former  encroachments  on  the  dark  domains 
of  sin,  was  no  longer  suited  to  its  purpose.  Its  spirit  would  do, 
but  its  form — its  garb  was  too  uncouth,  too  offensive  to  the  taste 
and  sentiment  of  the  age — savored  too  much  of  barbarism  and 
ignorance,  to  allow  it  any  longer  to  be  a  fit  instrument  by  which 
to  oppose  the  then  formidable  growth  of  the  Christian  Religion.  A 
new  Power  must  now  be  formed  suited  to  the  new  state  of  the  world 
as  modified  by  the  introduction  and  progress  of  Christianity.  It 
must  be  a  grand  delusion — and  be  so  constructed  as  to  meet  the 
threefold  demand  of  the  Pagan,  the  Jew,  and  the  Christian — and 
withal  contain  nothing  that  should  disturb  the  quietude  of  the 
carnal  heart. 

Mohammed  arose.  He  commenced  his  public  mission  in  609, 
only  three  years  later  than  the  generally  received  date  of  the  rise 
of  the  Papal  Beast.  Mohammedanism  was  a  religion  for  the 
times.  It  was  a  new  edition  of  the  same  old  error.  It  was 
Paganism  and  Infidelity  and  Licentiousness  dressed  in  a  costume 
suited  to  the  new  order  of  things  under  the  gospel  dispensation. 
It  incorporated  in  itself  so  much  of  each  of  the  prevailing  relig- 
ions as  should  satisfy  their  respective  votaries.  Mohammed  chose 
out  a  common  ground.  The  Jew,  the  nominal  Chistian,  and  the 
more  enlightened  heathen  would  acknowledge  the  existence  and 
unity  of  God,  and  the  duty  of  rendering  to  Him  some  service ; 
while  to  the  carnal  mind  a  sensual  Paradise  would  be  altogether 
congenial. 

The  Church  had  become  corrupt,  and  Mohammedanism  became 
the  scourge  of  the  eastern  portion,  as  Romanism  did  of  the  west- 


112  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

ern.  Mohammed  was  a  reformer  among  the  Pagans,  though  a 
corrupter  of  the  truth,  and  a  False  Prophet  to  Christianity.  His 
system  was  a  most  cunningly  devised  fable — a  fit  instrument  by 
which  to  ensnare  the  unwary  souls  of  men.  It  was  Paganism 
modified  and  modernized  and  fitted  to  a  more  enlightened  state 
of  the  world.  It  was  Satan's  second  grand  scheme  to  subjugate 
Asia  and  Africa  to  himself. 

The  corrupters  of  Christianity,  who  prepared  the  way  for  the 
rise  and  progress  of  Mohammedanism,  are  represented,  in  the 
ninth  chapter  of  Revelations,  as  a  "  Star  fallen  from  heaven  unto 
the  earth  " — to  whom  was  given  the  "  key  of  the  bottomless  Pit  J' 
^^  And  he  opened  the  bottomless  Pit  J*  The  propagation  of  his 
false  doctrines  let  loose  the  powers  of  hell,  and  encouraged 
wicked  men  in  sin.  "  And  there  arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit  as 
the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace,  and  the  sun  and  tJie  air  were  dark- 
ened by  reason  of  the  smoke  of  the  pitr  Here  was  Mohamme- 
danism. It  was  a  grand  delusion  which  either  blinded  the  eyes 
of  men,  or  so  bedimmed  and  perverted  their  vision  that  they  could 
only  see  as  through  a  glass  darkly — as  men  see  when  the  sun 
and  the  air  are  darkened  by  a  dense  smoke. 

There  could  not  be  a  more  exact  description  of  Mohammedan- 
ism as  a  religious  power.  But  Mohammed  was  not  merely  a 
False  Prophet — a  corrupter  and  destroyer  of  religion ;  he  was  a 
scourge  among  the  nations.  He  had  a  political  as  well  as  a  relig- 
ious dominion.  Follow  on  in  the  description:  ''''And  there 
came  out  of  the  smoke  locusts  on  the  earth  ;  and  unto  them  was 
given  power  as  the  scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power. ^^  That  is, 
great  armies  of  Arabians  or  Saracens  were  raised  up  by  the  pol- 
icy and  craft  of  the  Mohammedan  imposture,  which  spread  desola- 
tion among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  They  were  numerous  as 
locusts ;  and  arose  from  the  same  quarter  from  which  the  greatest 


AN  ARABIAN   ARMY  DESCRIBED.  113 

swarms  of  locusts  originate.  Yet  in  their  power  to  hurt,  they  are 
as  scorpions. 

And  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto  horses  prepared  unto 
battle  ;  and  on  their  heads  were  as  it  were  crowns  like  gold,  and 
their  faces  were  as  the  faces  of  men.  And  they  had  hair  as  the 
hair  of  women^  and  their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of  lions.  And 
they  had  breastplates,  as  it  were  breastplates  of  iron  ;  and  the  sound 
of  their  wings  was  as  the  sound  of  chariots  of  many  horses  run- 
ning to  battle.  And  they  had  a  king  over  them,  which  is  the  angel 
of  the  bottomless  Pit. 

What  more  accurate  description  of  an  Arabian  army  ?  Numer- 
ous as  swarms  of  locusts  from  the  southern  desert — vindictive  and 
deadly  as  the  scorpion — consisting  principally  of  horsemen — with 
turbans  on  their  heads  resembling  crowns — with  their  long  hair, 
as  the  Arabians  are  accustomed  to  wear  it — and  although,  hke 
women,  they  may  wear  some  marks  of  timidity  and  gentleness, 
yet  they  have  teeth  like  a  lion.  They  ravage  and  devour 
without  mercy.  They  have  faces  of  men — appear  like  men,  yet 
they  are  unchained  tigers. 

They  were  a  well  organized  army — had  a  king  over  them — 
were  actuated  by  one  spirit,  as  one  commissioned  from  the  bottom- 
less Pit.  They  harmonized  in  their  object,  the  prostration  of 
the  Church — were  protected  by  a  strong  civil  power — had  breast- 
plates of  iron.  They  produced  a  great  tumult  in  the  world — 
flew  from  one  country  to  another  like  an  army  with  chariots 
and  many  horsemen.  At  first  they  favored  and  flattered ;  but 
there  was  a  sting  in  their  tail.  They  at  length  stung  like  a  scor- 
pion. 

They  had  power  to  do  hurt  for  five  months — one  hundred  and 

fifty  days — or,  according  to  prophetic  language,  one  hundred  and 

fifty  years. 

Mohammed  began  publicly  to  declare  his  mission  in  the  year 
8 


114  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

612,  and  the  power  of  his  violent  agressions  was  suspended  on 
the  building  of  Bagdat,  in  762 — one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
after.  The  smoke  continued — the  power  of  religious  delusion 
did  not  cease,  but  the  flying,  furious,  stinging,  scorpion-like 
locusts  ceased  their  ravages.  The  fierce  military  character  was 
abated,  yet  their  civil  and  religious  power  and  dominion  over  the 
fairest  portions  of  the  world  was  continued,  and  is  to  continue  till 
it  shall  have  accomplished  in  all  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years. 
The  period  of  its  existence  (which  was  cotemporaneous  in  its  be- 
ginning) is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Papal  Beast. 

What  I  have  described  is  the  "  first  woe  "  of  Mohammedanism, 
or  the  fierce  and  cruel  ravages  of  Moslemism  during  its  first  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  During  this  period  it  spread  its  gloomy 
desolations  over  the  whole  Eastern  Roman  Empire.  Arabia  was 
already  in  the  hands  of  the  Prophet  before  his  death.  Syria, 
Persia  and  Egypt  are  soon  made  the  vassals  of  his  proud  succes- 
sors. The  banners  of  the  Moslems  wave  over  thirty-six  thousand 
cities,  towns  and  castles,  subjugated  to  the  new  conquerors  within 
the  first  twelve  years ;  four  thousand  Christian  temples  destroyed, 
and  fourteen  hundred  Mosques  dedicated  to  the  Prophet. 

Africa  was  subdued — the  Moors  are  converted  to  the  new 
Religion,  and  in  their  turn  descend  into  Spain  and  establish  a 
magnificent  empire  there.  "  The  victorious  standard  of  the  Cres- 
cent was  raised  on  the  cold  mountains  of  Tartary,  and  on  the 
burning  sands  of  Ethiopia."  "  On  Mount  Lebanon  and  by  the 
waters  of  Babylon ;  under  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  and  to  the 
Mozambique  and  Madagascar,  the  standard  sheet  of  Mohammed 
was  unfurled." 

The  "  second  woe,"  or  the  second  grand  aggressive,  blood-thirsty 
stride  of  Mohammedanism  may  be  looked  for  in  the  rise  of  the 
Turkish  Power.  The  Turks,  recently  so  formidable  and 
constituting  so  important  a  portion  of  the  Mohammedan  Empire, 


THE    SECOND    WOE,    OR   TURKISH   INVASION.  115 

were  not  an  original  part  of  this  dominion.  They  were  a  tribe 
of  Tartars  from  beyond  the  River  Euphrates — often  called  0th- 
mans  or  Otomans,  from  Othman  their  chief,  who  assumed  the  title  of 
Sultan.  Suffice  it  to  say  these  Tartar  hordes,  after  various  and 
extraordinary  success,  in  which  they  subjugated  Persia  and  West- 
ern Asia,  and  formed  four  governments  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Euphrates,  had  hitherto  been  held  in  check.  But  in  the  year 
1281  these  "  four  angels  which  were  bound  in  the  River  Euphra- 
tes, were  loosed."  The  Turks  burst  forth  on  the  Saracens — car- 
ried their  conquests  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Danube — overrun 
the  whole  Mohammedan  Empire — took  Constantinople,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Roman  Empire,  in  1453 — took  possession  of  Syria, 
Greece,  Egypt,  and  conquered  most  of  Europe. 

These  wars  and  conquests  reached  up  to  the  year  1672,  being 
three  hundred  and  ninety-one  years  from  their  incursions  west 
of  the  Euphrates.  This  answers  precisely  to  the  length  of  time 
predicted  for  the  continuance  of  the  "  second  woe,"  or  the  woe  of 
the  Turkish  invasion.  "  The  four  angels  which  were  loosed,  were 
prepared  for  an  hour  and  a  day  and  a  month  and  a  year"  That 
is,  for  three  hundred  and  ninety-one  years,  the  very  time  occupied 
in  the  above  conquests. 

Since  that  time  the  Turkish  Empire  has  stood  the  grand  centre 
of  Mohammedan  power,  and  the  formidable  barrier  between 
Christianity  and  Paganism.  It  has  occupied  the  central  portion 
of  the  earth,  and  been  the  keystone  in  the  arch  of  empire.  It 
is  the  balancing  power  among  nations.  But  for  this  fact  it  would 
have  been  demolished  long  since.  Consequently,  when  it  does 
fall,  it  must  produce  a  crash  among  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 

The  same  remark  might  be  made  in  reference  to  the  Turkish 
power  on  the  religious  world,  but  that  would  be  to  anticipate  an- 
other part  of  our  subject. 

Russia  has  always  looked  with  an  eagle-eye  on  Turkey.     She 


116  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

now  waits  to  seize  on  her  prey.  France  waits  to  realize  her 
long  indulged  dreams  of  making  Egypt  (an  important  part  of 
this  dominion)  her  tributary.  England  fears  for  her  wide  do- 
mains in  the  East  if  Turkey  shall  be  dismembered;  while 
France,  England,  Austria  and  Prussia  have  a  common  interest 
in  opposing  the  encroachments  and  the  consequent  aggrandize- 
ment of  the  autocrat  of  the  North,  the  grand  Czar  of  Russia. 

Thus  it  is  that  Turkey  is  the  pivot  of  power.  The  great  de- 
sideratum among  the  nations  is,  how  to  preserve  the  balance  when 
this  pivot  shall  be  destroyed — for  destroyed  it  soon  must  be. 
Mohammedanism  is  rotten  at  the  core.  It  has  always  nourished 
within  its  bosom  the  seeds  of  its  own  dissolution.  Its  vigor  was 
long  since  departed.  Infirmity,  disease  and  age  have  long  since 
betokened  its  downfall.  The  keen-eyed  statesman  has  long  since 
seen  it.  The  courts  of  the  great  Powers  of  Europe  are  per- 
plexed, not  as  to  the  probability  of  the  speedy  overthrow  of  this 
power,  but  as  to  the  manner  that  it  shall  be  disposed  of  so  as  to 
preserve  the  balance  of  power  among  the  nations.  The  moment 
the  banners  of  the  Crescent  shall  be  furled  on  the  towers  of  Con- 
stantinople, there  will  be  a  tumult  among  the  nations — some  to 
preserve  what  they  have,  others  to  gain  what  they  have  not. 

If  such  be  the  relative  position  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  it  is 
easy  to  see  why,  politically  as  well  as  religiously,  so  much  im- 
portance is  attached  to  the  downfall  of  this  power. 

What,  now,  are  the  facts  in  regard  to  it  ?  They  are  these : 
The  arm  of  this  empire  is  broken — the  sceptre  is  departing — ^her 
glory  is  eclipsed — her  strength  is  weakness.  Long  ago  would 
she  have  fallen  but  for  the  interested  interposition  of  those  who 
were  not  yet  prepared  to  divide  the  spoil.  But  now  her  days, 
to  all  human  appearance,  are  numbered.  She  cannot  be  pillared 
up  much  longer.     She  must  fall — and   that  speedily — ^perhaps 


INDICATIONS    OF   A    GENERAL    CONVULSION.  117 

within  a  few  years.  But  this  event  shall  be  followed  by  a  mighty 
revolution. 

Am  I  not  right,  then,  in  pointing  to  the  present  political  as- 
pect of  the  world  as  indicative  of  a  general  convulsion  ?  Pre- 
cisely what  that  will  be  we  may  not  determine.  Yet  we  are  not 
left  without  some  landmarks  by  which  we  may  be  guided  in  our 
inquiries  here.     Let  us  turn  to  them  for  a  moment : 

The  overthrow  of  Mohammedanism  is,  I  think,  foretold  in  the 
following  passage  from  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Revelations: 
"  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  on  the  great  river  Eu- 
phrates^ and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up,  that  the  wag  of  the 
kings  of  the  East  might  he  prepared.^' 

The  Euphrates,  it  is  well  known,  is  the  very  centre  of  Mo- 
hammedanism. To  the  north,  at  the  head  of  this  river,  lies 
Turkey,  the  very  fountain  of  Islamism ;  at  the  east,  Persia ;  at 
the  west,  Arabia,  Syria  and  Egypt.  The  land  of  the  Euphrates 
is  the  very  land  of  the  Mohammedan  delusion.  Here  it  has  held 
undisputed  sway  over  the  fairest  portions  of  the  world.  Thence 
it  has  sent  out  pestiferous  waters  to  poison  the  souls  of  men.  It 
is  therefore  well  symbolized  by  the  river  Euphrates — and  its 
downfall  by  the  drying  up  of  the  waters  of  this  river.  The  power 
of  that  great  empire  shall  wane  and  waste  away  until  it  shall 
cease  to  be.  So  it  has  been  for  many  years  past,  losing  its  vigor 
and  diminishing  till  only  the  shadow  of  its  former  greatness  re- 
mains— and  to  all  human  probability  it  must  soon  cease  to  be. 
But  what  shall  be  the  consequence  ?  The  account  proceeds : 
"And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  come  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
false  prophet.  For  they  are  the  spirits  of  devils  working  miracles, 
wliich  go  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  world,  to 
gather  them  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty." 

First  the  body  shall  die,  and  the  eagles  shall  gather  together  to 


118  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

divide  the  carcase.  The  kings  of  the  earth  shall  come  to  seize 
the  spoil.  But  the  spirit  shall  live.  It  shall  be  a  spirit  of  a  three- 
fold power :  1st.  The  spirit  of  the  Dragon  or  the  Devil — the  spirit 
of  Idolatry  or  of  Infidelity  ;  2d.  The  spirit  of  the  Beast  or  Popery; 
and  3d.  The  spirit  of  the  false  Prophet — the  same  old  spirit  of 
Mohammedanism. 

These  foul  spirits  of  the  Pit  now  issue  forth  on  the  annihila- 
tion of  the  great  antichristian  power — the  great  scourge  of  a  pure 
religion.  They  practice  all  manner  of  deception,  even  pretending 
to  work  miracles.  Their  grand  design  is  to  stir  up  the  kings  of 
the  earth  to  the  last  great  conflict — to  the  battle  of  the  great  day 
of  God  Almighty. 

This  great  battle,  the  battle  of  Armageddon,  is  the  result  of 
that  last  and  fearful  confederacy  of  the  powers  of  darkness  against 
the  Church  of   Christ. 

The  signs  of  the  times  are  portentous.  The  world  is  in  com- 
motion ;  the  political  world  seems  to  move  from  its  very  centre. 
The  fountains  of  the  great  deep  seem  about  to  be  broken  up. 
It  labors  and  heaves  from  beneath  and  betokens  another  deluge. 
Not  a  deluge  like  that  which  broke  up  the  material  surface  of 
the  earth  and  cast  the  mountains  into  the  sea,  and  turned  the  sea 
into  dry  land — that  remodeled  the  entire  surface  of  our  globe, 
but  a  moral  and  political  deluge.  A  convulsion  that  shall  cast 
down  the  high  mountains  of  despotism  and  break  to  pieces  the 
strongholds  of  ecclesiastical  domination,  and  throw  into  fearful 
commotion  the  stagnant  ocean  of  common  minds.  We  seem  to 
be  in  a  transition  state — passing  the  threshold  of  some  mighty 
change.  The  world  is  about  to  be  shaken  to  its  centre.  Those 
things  that  may  be  shaken  shall  be  removed ;  and  those  things 
that  cannot  be  shaken  shall  remain.  Every  nation's  as  well  as 
every  man's  works  are  about  to  be  tried,  that  it  may  be  seen  of 
what  they  are.     The  hay,  wood  and  stubble  shall  be  burnt ;  the 


CIVIL   AND    RELIGIOUS   RESUSCITATIONS.  119 

gold,  silver  and  precious  stones  shall  come  out  seven  times  puri- 
fied. 

Already  does  the  earth  give  signs  of  such  a  convulsion.  The 
world  is  becoming  too  much  enlightened  much  longer  to  bear  the 
galling  yoke  of  despotism.  The  genius  of  Liberty  is  too  rife  in 
the  world  much  longer  to  be  trampled  under  foot  by  a  bull  of  the 
Pope,  or  to  crouch  to  the  thraldom  of  Pagan  or  Mohammedan 
priestcraft.  These  mountains,  however,  cannot  be  cast  into  the 
sea  without  a  convulsion  that  shall  shake  the  whole  earth.  Al- 
ready, to  all  human  appearance,  it  is  beginning  to  work. 

But  there  is  another  and  a  less  despondent  phase  of  affairs  in 
Turkey.  In  the  midst  of  the  wanings  of  the  Crescent  and  the 
drying  up  of  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates,  new  fountains  of  moral 
and  political  life  have  sprung  up  and  are  beginning  to  cheer  the 
desolations  of  that  land  of  despotism.  Christianity,  in  its  primi- 
tive life  and  purity,  has  entered  Turkey.  And  Christian  civili- 
zation has  there  entered  on  its  benign  mission.  The  gradually 
vanishing  away  of  old  systems  and  polities  does  but  make  place 
for  the  ingress  of  the  reforming  institutions  of  a  better  religion 
and  a  better  civil  polity. 

But  remarkable  and  ommous  of  change  and  promising  of  a 
radical  reform  as  the  decay  of  the  old  regime  is,  these  are  not 
the  features  in  the  present  history  of  the  Turks  and  of  the  Mos- 
lem religion,  which  the  most  obviously  betoken  a  revolution  that 
shall  put  out  of  the  way  one  of  the  most  formidable  obstacles 
with  which  Christianity  has  now  to  contend.  We  refer  rather 
to  the  civil  and  religious  resuscitations  which  are  there  transpir- 
ing at  the  present  day.  The  past  few  years  have  wrought  mar- 
vellous changes  in  Turkey.  The  destruction  of  the  Janizaries, 
and  the  death-blow  thereby  struck  to  the  despotic  power  of  the 
Ottoman  empire  ;  the  abrogation  of  the  death  penalty  on  account 
of  a  change  of  religion,  and  the  free  toleration  of  all  religions ; 


120  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

the  extensive  introduction  of  the  Press  and  the  publication  of  a 
great  variety  of  newspapers  and  periodicals ;  the  translation  of 
the  Bible  into  the  principal  languages  of  Turkey  and  its  free  and 
extensive  circulation  among  all  classes  of  people,  and  the  re- 
cent increased  attention  paid  to  education,  especially  to  female 
education,  are  signs  of  the  times  of  no  doubtful  import.  Recent 
movements  of  the  Sultan  in  reorganizing  the  schools  of  his  em- 
pire, and  especially  in  putting  upon  a  more  prosperous  footing  than 
ever  before,  schools  for  girls,  indicate  the  determination  of  the 
Sublime  Porte  to  carry  out  the  schemes  of  reform  already  so 
auspiciously  begun. 

And  what  is  yet  more  to  our  purpose,  European  civilization 
has  been  very  extensively  introduced,  and  Christian  missions  have 
made  known,  in  every  principal  place  in  the  empire,  the  religion 
of  the  New  Testament.  These  are  the  things  which  are  inau- 
gurating a  new  era  in  the  land  of  the  Moslems,  and  which  indicate 
coming  changes  of  a  most  delightful  character.  Agencies  are 
undoubtedly  at  work  there  which  shall  not  fail  to  work  out  a 
glorious  emancipation. 

Whether,  therefore,  we  watch  the  receding  wave  of  the  old 
and  decaying  order  of  things  as  it  returns  again  to  the  dark  chaos 
whence  it  rose,  or  whether  the  eye  fix  on  the  inflowing  and 
gradually  strengthening  tide  of  the  new  order,  we  are  instinctively 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  great  changes  are  at  hand.  Turkey 
can  scarcely  fail  to  be  soon  revolutionized.  And  we  think  we  are 
not  mistaken  in  the  intimation  already  made,  that  a  revolution 
in  Turkey  will  be  the  signal  of  revolution  in  most  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

What  shall  be  the  immediate  results  of  such  revolutions  we 
cannot  predict ;  but  sure  we  are  that  the  mighty  hand  of  God  will 
be  in  them,  and  an  immense  revenue  of  glory  shall  accrue  to  his 
name.     He  will  break  to  pieces,  as  with  a  rod  of  iron,  the  power 


GOOD    OUT    OF    EVIL.  121 

of  reigning  despotism ;  he  will  rebuke  the  pride  of  man  ;  he  will 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  nations  that  serve  him,  and  weaken 
the  power  of  those  who  will  not  have  him  to  reign  over  them.  He 
will,  in  all  things,  open  the  door  among  the  nations  for  the  free 
and  universal  diffusion  of  the  gospel. 

It  will  be  seen  that  we  do  not  anticipate  a  violent  death  for  this 
great  system  of  religious  delusion.  In  this  respect  its  end  shall 
signally  differ  from  its  great  contemporary,  the  Romish  Apostasy. 

These  views  might  be  abundantly  confirmed  by  intelligent  wit- 
nesses, at  present  residents  in  those  countries ;  men  who  have, 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  been  identified  with  these 
reforms  and  who  know  whereof  they  affirm.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Goodell,  who  has  done  good  service  in  Turkey  for  the  last  thirty 
years,  speaks  thus  hopefully  of  the  prospects  of  the  work.  He 
says :  "  A  wide  and  efi*ectual  door  is  opened  before  us  to  labor  for 
the  evangelizing  of  this  Mohammedan  and  corrupt  Christian 
land.  Behold  what  things  God  hath  wrought !  War  has  come 
and  brought  many  evils  in  its  train,  but  it  has  also  brought  the 
Bible,  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  many  praying  hearts  here.  It 
has  given  liberty  to  distribute  thousands  of  copies  of  Bibles  and 
Testaments  to  those  who  are  denied  this  blessed  book  in  their  own 
land.  It  has  broken  the  wall  of  bigotry  and  prejudice  that  can 
never  be  built  up  again  between  Mohammedans  and  Christians, 
and  opened  the  Mussulman  mind  largely  to  Bible  and  Gospel  in- 
fluences. It  has  officially  pledged  i-eligious  liberty  to  all  classes, 
even  native-born  Mussulmans  in  the  Turkish  Empire,  and  that, 
too,  with  the  sanction  of  all  the  great  powers  of  Europe.  Having 
thus  accomplished  the  great  designs  of  God,  the  late  war  ceased, 
and  peace  was  proclaimed  amidst  universal  rejoicings.  And  the 
way  is  now  opened  for  evangelical  Christians  to  enter  in  and  take 
possession  of  this  land  for  our  Lord  and  his  Christ.  The  signs 
of  the  times  call  upon  us  to  gird  ourselves  with  one  heart  and  one 


122  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

mind  for  the  work.  There  will  doubtless  be  a  great  conflict  in 
the  overthrow  of  Moslem  ism  in  the  opposing  of  the  flood  of  infi- 
delity and  licentiousness  that  will  follow,  and  in  the  establishment 
of  a  pure  and  evangelical  Christianity,  but  the  result  is  sure  as 
the  Word  of  God." 

In  commenting  on  the  late  Hatti  Sheriff,  which  he  regards  as 
the  turning-point  in  the  history  of  the  East,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Schaf- 
fler  says :  "  The  entire  war  seemed  made  for  the  Hatti  Sheriff, 
the  late  firman  of  the  Sultan,  granting  liberty  of  conscience  to  all 
the  subjects  of  the  Porte.  Before  this  was  proclaimed,  the  al- 
lied powers  tried  to  make  peace,  but  it  was  impossible.  God's 
purpose  in  the  war  was  not  yet  accomplished.  But  when  relig- 
ious liberty  had  been  pledged  from  Constantinople  throughout  the 
Turkish  Empire,  then  the  conferences  met  at  Paris,  and  peace 
was  at  once  concluded.  A  good  Arminian  brother  said,  *  This 
war  was  not  made  for  the  queen,  the  emperor,  or  the  sultan,  but 
for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  pave  the  way  and  to  open  every 
door  for  the  spread  of  the  Bible  and  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
in  this  land.'  A  great  leaf  was  soon  to  be  turned  in  the  history 
of  the  East ;  it  was  now  trembling  in  the  hand  of  Providence, 
and  we  believe  there  is  written  on  it  glorious  things  for  the  tri- 
umph of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Hatti  Sheriff,  being  interpreted, 
signifies  sacred  writing.  This  was  to  prepare  the  way  for  God's 
sacred  writing — his  Hatti  Sheriff — to  go  forth  in  all  the  languages 
and  lands  of  the  Mohammedan  empire."  Almost  the  only  sub- 
stantial fruit  of  the  Crimean  war  was  the  decree  securing  relig- 
ious liberty. 

"Nor  did  the  renunciation  of  the  claim  to  inflict  the  death 
penalty,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Riggs,  "  appear  alone.  The  same 
edict  proclaimed  the  entire  equality  of  the  subjects  of  the  empire, 
of  whatever  faith ;  and  besides,  it  comprised  twenty  points  of  re- 
form, all  proposed  by  the  English  embassador,  and  seconded  by 


**THE    MORNING    COMETH."  123 

the  embassadors  of  the  other  allied  powers,  who  were  thus  led, 
in  the  wonder-working  providence  of  God,  to  demand  in  Turkey 
a  more  complete  toleration  than  they  grant  in  their  own  em- 
pires." 

Indeed,  the  united  testimony  of  the  whole  missionary  corps  in 
that  benighted  land,  comes  to  us  in  accents  the  most  cheering,  pro- 
claiming "  the  morning  cometh."  "  There  was  never  a  time,"  say 
they, "  like  the  present  in  this  country.  The  word  of  God  has  free 
course.  Christians,  Jews  and  Mohammedans,  in  the  great  cities 
of  the  country,  in  the  interior,  in  the  mountainous  regions — Kurds 
and  Kuzzlebashes — accept  the  Word.  The  dwellers  in  the  rocks 
and  in  the  plains,  shout  to  each  other,  and  every  prosperous  year 
is  outdone  by  the  year  following.  Our  experience  is  that  the 
time  for  the  evangelization  of  the  East  has  come." 

Such  are  the  signs  of  the  times  in  that  land  which  stands  as 
the  key-empire  of  the  world.  Change  and  commotion  there  be- 
token change  and  commotion  among  the  nations.  On  the  one 
hand,  we  have  seen  the  Turkish  Empire  toppling  to  its  fall,  and 
is  only  propped  up  by  the  strong  arm,  and  preserved  in  its  integ- 
rity by  the  complicated  interests  of  foreign  powers.  The  no 
doubtful  premonitions  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Moslems  are  omi- 
nous of  mighty  changes ;  and  at  the  same  time  preparatory  to  the 
things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass.  Soon  we  may  expect 
to  witness  a  crash  among  the  nations.  The  dying  struggle  of 
Islamism  shall  be  the  signal  of  a  wide-spread  commotion.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  have  witnessed  at  work  there,  under  auspices 
the  most  promising  of  success,  a  series  of  reforming  elements  and 
agencies,  which  are  working  out  results  as  sure  as  they  are  ame- 
liorating and  benevolent.  Yet  we  do  not  expect  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness will  arise  on  those  lands  so  long  darkened  with  the  de- 
vouring locusts  of  the  false  Prophet,  except  he  shall  arise  out  of 


124  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

the  thick  darkness  and  the  tempest.  Yet  we  expect  he  shall 
soon  arise. 

When  the  great  drama  shall  end,  when  the  most  colossal  system 
of  imposture  which  the  world  ever  witnessed  shall  dissolve  away 
and  be  no  more,  then  shall  he  who  overturns  and  overturns,  come 
and  set  up  his  kingdom  on  the  earth.  The  duration  of  this  im- 
posture, we  remember,  is  nearly  coeval  with  that  of  the  Romish 
Apostasy.  We  therefore  expect,  in  the  waning  of  the  Crescent, 
to  witness  the  downfall  of  great  Babylon. 

In  all  these  commotions  and  overtumings  the  Christian  hears 
the  stately  steppings  of  his  Prince.  The  pestilence  and  the  sword 
may  go  before  him,  but  righteousness  and  peace  shall  follow  in  his 
footsteps. 

But  what  shall  the  sinner  and  the  ungodly  then  do  ?  The  earth 
is  tottering  beneath  him — it  shall  reel  to  and  fro  hke  a  drunken 
man — and  if  he  have  not  laid  up  for  himself  a  good  foundation 
for  time  to  come,  he  is  indeed  in  want  of  all  things.  When  the 
day  of  the  "  Lord's  vengeance"  shall  come,  then  may  we  know  that 
the  "  year  of  the  redeemed  is  come." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Movements  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  indicating  the  approach  of  the  latter-day 
glory— The  present  condition  of  the  Jews,  a  (12th)  sign  of  the  times. 

"  Balration  is  of  the  Jews."— John  iv.  22 

In  designating  what  should  be  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  man,  I  said  the  "  restoration  to  the  land  of  their  fath- 
ers, and  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  of  the  Jews,"  should 
hold  a  prominent  place.  We  have  purposely  reserved  what  we 
would  say  on  this  topic  for  a  separate  but  brief  chapter.  It  is 
the  design  now  to  show  that  the  present  condition  of  this  extraor- 
dinary people  is  suck  as  to  indicate  the  no  distant  approach  of  the 
glorious  era  foretold. 

But  what  has  the  world  now  to  do  with  the  descendants  of 
Abraham — with  these  despised  and  everywhere  spoken-against 
Jews  ?  Are  they  not  cut  off  and  cast  out,  repudiated  and  cursed 
of  God  ?  Why  should  those  ancient  rebels  be  now  called  up  to 
honor  the  King  when  he  shall  come  in  his  glory  ?  What  have  we 
to  do  with  them  ?  Much  every  way ;  and  chiefly  because  God  will 
honor  them  more  prominently  than  he  ever  has  done  as  an  instru- 
mentality by  which  to  carry  forward  the  glorious  work  of  Redemp- 
tion.    Salvation  is  of  the  Jews. 

(125) 


126  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

We  here  do  well  to  go  back  and  inquire  at  the  mouth  of  the 
living  oracles,  what  is  the  mind  of  God  in  respect  to  Israel? 
Has  he  done  with  that  extraordinary  people  ?  Are  his  purposes 
all  fulfilled,  his  promises  through  them  all  performed  ?  Will  he 
use  his  ancient  covenant  people  no  more  as  prominent  instruments 
by  which  to  carry  on  the  great  work  of  human  salvation  ? 

As  preliminary  therefore  to  the  main  design  of  the  present 
chapter,  and  as  a  means  of  confirming  our  faith  in  the  permanency 
of  God's  covenant  with  Abraham  to  the  end  of  time,  it  will  not 
be  amiss  to  refer  to  a  few  particulars  respecting  this  singular  peo- 
ple which  can  scarcely  fail  to  inspire  in  us  fresh  hopes  that  God 
will  yet  make  the  seed  of  Abraham  bear  a  very  signal  part  in 
bringing  in  the  latter-day  glory ;  and  make  us  feel  the  more  con- 
fident, as  we  see  any  movements  among  the  Jews  betokening 
their  return  to  the  land  of  their  ancient  inheritance,  and  their 
acknowledgment  of  the  Messiah,  that  such  a  day  is  at  hand. 
But  why  does  any  movement  in  the  camp  of  Israel,  or  a  move- 
ment in  reference  to  this  people  have  such  a  strange  significancy, 
and  Avhy  is  it  taken  as  an  index  of  corresponding  movements  in 
the  Church  of  God,  and  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  ?  It  is 
because  of  the  peculiar  relation  in  which  this  people  stand  to  the 
purposes  and  covenant  promises  of  God. 

Such  has  been  the  past  history  of  the  Jews — such  God*s  cov- 
enant and  its  promises — such  the  whole  course  of  his  dealings 
with  them — their  singular  dispersion  and  more  singular  preser- 
vation— and  the  no  less  remarkable  predictions  concerning  their 
future — as  well  as  the  prominence  in  human  affairs  which  in  all 
ages  has  been  allowed  to  individuals  of  that  nation,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  great  mass  of  them  were  still  crushed  under  great 
oppression — all  these  things  indicate  that  this  people  hold  a  posi- 
tion in  relation  to  the  Church  universal  and  to  the  world,  which 


god's  promises  to  the  jews.  127 

can  scarcely  fail  to  invest  every  thing  which  belongs  to  them  with 
a  peculiar  interest. 

When  Christ  said  "  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews/'  he  announced 
a  fact  which  runs  parallel  with  the  whole  history  of  this  wonder- 
ful people — and  more  significant,  probably,  in  relation  to  its  future 
than  its  past.  The  destiny  of  the  world  is  strangely  bound  up  in 
the  destiny  of  Israel. 

But  let  us  inquire  a  little  more  particularly  what  there  has  been 
so  singular  in  the  relative  position  of  the  Jewish  Church  and 
nation  in  the  past  history  of  the  world — and  what  there  is  in  God's 
promises,  and  his  obvious  purposes  towards  them  in  the  future,  to 
indicate  that  they  are  to  have  any  special  agency  and  influence  in 
the  conversion  of  the  world  and  the  bringing  in  of  the  latter-day 
glory  ?  what  that  should  make  us  feel  that  any  movement  among 
that  people,  or  in  respect  to  them,  is  especially  auspicious  and 
encouraging?  There  are  some  things  in  connection  with  the 
original  grant  made  to  Abraham — something  in  the  form  of  the 
promises  and  blessings  appended,  which  more  than  suggest  that  a 
glorious  future  yet  awaits  that  people.  Israel  should  become  a 
great  nation.  This  has  been  but  partially  fulfilled.  In  the  palm- 
iest days  of  the  Hebrew  Commonwealth  this  grant  was  only  in 
part  appropriated.  And  as  the  land  was  given  as  an  everlasting 
possession,  it  yet  remains  for  a  future  occupancy. 

Another  feature  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  was  that  his 
name  should  he  great.  He  should  be  denominated,  not  the  Father 
of  his  country  only,  but  the  Father  of  the  faithful.  No  other 
name  is  so  universally  honored  by  the  whole  family  of  man. 
"  Jews,  Gentiles — Mohammedans  and  Christians,  vie,  one  with 
another,  in  their  reverence  to  the  memory  of  this  great  man,*' 
and  glory  in  their  real  or  supposed  descent  from  him.  Never 
was  a  name  so  immortalized  on  earth — so  interwoven  with  the 


128  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

saint's  hope  of  eternal  life — appended,  as  it  were,  to  every  grant 
of  pardon  at  the  court  of  heaven. 

And  not  only  so,  but  he  should  be  a  remarkable  channel  of 
transmitting  blessings  and  honors  to  others,  without  limit.  Thou 
shalt  be  a  blessing — a  fountain  whose  streams  shall  bless  a  world. 
Do  we  value  the  Bible  ?  do  we  esteem  above  rubies  the  institutions 
of  Religion — the  Sabbath  and  the  Sanctuary  ? — Is  Christ  pre- 
cious, the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand  ?  These  are  boons  through 
faithful  Abraliam. 

And  we  observe  another  thing  here.  God  singularly  iden- 
tifies his  interest  and  aims  in  the  affairs  of  this  world  with 
Abraham  and  his  descendants:  "I  will  bless  them  that  bless 
thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee."  To  raise  a  hand  against 
Israel,  is  to  fight  against  God.  No  people,  no  nation  has  ever 
opposed,  persecuted,  and  harmed  Israel  and  prospered.  This, 
all  history  has  abundantly  verified ;  not  in  respect  to  the  spiritual 
seed  of  Abraham  alone,  but  scarcely  less  remarkably,  in  respect  to 
his  natural  seed. 

Another  significant  fact  in  relation  to  this  race,  is  its  singular 
preservation.  They  have  remained  a  distinct  people  4,000  years — 
and,  impliedly  and  prophetically,  since  the  promise  of  a  Saviour  to 
Adam.  There  is  not  another  such  instance  in  the  annals  of  the 
world.  The  Assyrian,  the  Babylonian,  the  Greek  and  the  Roman 
— where  are  they  ?  The  tide  of  empire  rolls  on,  rising  and  fall- 
ing— flourishing  and  decaying,  till  the  revolution  of  empires  is 
scarcely  less  looked  for  than  revolution  in  any  other  mutable 
thing.  Not  one  of  the  nations  which  oppressed  Israel  is  now  to 
he  found.  How  diflTerent  the  fate  of  the  Jews !  The  earth  has 
been  overturned  and  overturned — the  foundations  of  empire 
broken  up — kingdoms  on  kingdoms  wrecked,  and  nations  dissolved 
into  their  elements,  yet  the  nation  which  the  King  is  pleased  to 
honor,  has  stood  like  a  tower  amidst  embattling  hosts.     Amidst  a 


SINGULAR   PRESERVATION    OP    ISRAEL.  129 

spiritually  barren  world,  she  remained  from  century  to  century  as  a 
garden  in  the  desert,  the  only  spot  on  which  the  eye  of  moral 
beauty  could  fix  with  delight.  Founded  on  a  Rock,  Israel  stood 
and  prospered,  while  the  beggarly  elements  of  the  world  were 
dissolving  about  him. 

And  though  now  scattered  to  the  four  winds  and  cast  among 
people  of  .every  language  and  latitude,  they  lose  none  of  their 
identity.  They  stand  separate  and  alone  amidst  the  endlessly 
changing  population  of  the  globe.  But  why  has  this  people  been 
so  remarkably  preserved  a  separate  and  distinct  people,  if  God 
has  no  further  special  use  for  them?  If  his  future  purposes 
concerning  them  are  simply  that  they  shall  acknowledge  the 
Messiah  like  any  other  nation  of  unbelievers,  why  all  this  special 
care  of  them  ? 

In  other  respects,  too,  this  singular  people  hold  a  most  extraor- 
dinary position  in  relation  to  all  the  other  nations.  They  were  the 
chosen  depositories  of  God's  grace  for  a  perishing  world — Zion,  his 
earthly  dwelling,  the  place  of  his  pecuhar  presence — of  his  prom- 
ises, of  the  covenants,  of  the  living  oracles  of  the  truth — of  the 
advent  of  the  Messiah.  They  were  the  dispensers  of  salvation 
to  a  dying  world  ;  the  channel  of  transmission  of  the  waters  of  life. 
And  they  were,  too,  the  keystone  to  empire.  Ancient  monarchies 
rose,  prospered,  and  faded  away  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of 
God  as  touching  Israel.  They  were  the  grand  radiating  point  of 
light — the  fountain  of  moral  influences  for  a  lapsed  world. 

And,  what  is  more  remarkable,  the  first  agents,  the  most 
efficient  and  successful,  in  the  early  diffusion  of  Christianity,  were 
of  this  same  stock  of  Abraham.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  Jew- 
ish, apostolic  agency,  the  gospel,  in  spite  of  all  governmental  power 
arrayed  against  them,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  opposing  power  of 
the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  was,  in  about  thirty  years, 
made  known  to  every  nation  under  heaven.     And  not  till  a  Gen- 


130  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

tile  agency  was  substituted  in  the  place  of  a  Jewish,  did  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  of  the  primitive  Chui'ch  subside  and  the  Church 
herself  become  corrupt.  Most  emphatically  was  this  great  salva- 
tion of  the  JewSf  both  in  its  introduction  and  its  diffusion  among 
the  nations. 

And  more  remarkably  yet,  shall  this  same  feature  characterize 
the  final  conversion  of  the  world  and  the  establishment  of  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  on  the  earth.  The  prophets  are  full  of  the  most 
glowing  expressions  as  to  the  leading  influential  part  which  the 
seed  of  Abraham  shall  take  in  the  final  evangehzation  of  the 
world. 

There  are  here  two  classes  of  predictions  :  the  one  relating  to 
the  profound  and  overwhelming  conviction,  which  the  restoration 
to  God's  favor,  and  the  fulfilment  of  so  many  prophecies,  and  the 
verification  of  so  many  promises  shall  produce  on  the  mind  of 
the  whole  Gentile  world;  and  the  other  relates  to  the  direct 
instrumentality  which  the  Jews,  when  converted  and  restored  to 
the  land  of  their  fathers,  shall  have  in  bringing  about  the  desired 
event.  The  conversion,  after  so  long  a  time,  of  such  a  people — 
the  manner  of  their  return — the  forbearance,  faithfulness,  good- 
ness, mercy  and  judgment  of  God  displayed  in  it — the  great  prac- 
tical attestation  it  will  furnish  to  the  truth  of  prophecy,  will  pro- 
duce a  moral  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  nations,  more  powerful 
than  we  may  readily  conceive.  When  the  "  light"  shall  have  come 
to  Israel,  and  the  "  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  risen"  on  the  re- 
stored house  of  Jacob,  "  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  her  light  and 
kings  to  the  brightness  of  her  rising."  When  God  shall  "  arise 
and  have  mercy  on  Zion,  the  heathen  shall  fear  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  thy  glory."  ''  They  shall 
be  in  the  midst  of  many  people,  as  a  dew  from  the  Lord,  as  the 
showers  upon  the  grass."    "  When  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion 


THE   RESTORATION    OF   THE   JEWS.  131 

• — restore  his  ancient  covenant  people — he  shall  appear  in  his 
glory." 

The  restoration  of  the  Jews — ^after  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 
shall  be  brought  in — is  everywhere  held  up  as  the  spiritual  res- 
urrection of  the  whole  Gentile  world.  The  great  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles  has  left  us  no  room  to  doubt  of  the  meaning  of  the 
many  prophetic  visions  to  which  I  have  scarcely  more  than  al- 
luded. "  Now,"  says  he,  "  if  the  fall  of  them  be,"  as  by  all  con- 
ceded, "the  riches  of  the  world" — the  means  or  occasion  of  bringing 
the  gospel  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth ;  and  the  "  diminishing 
of  them  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles,  how  7nuch  more  their  fulness  ?" 
Or  "  if  the  casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world, 
what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the  dead?" 
The  resuscitation  of  the  dry  bones  of  the  house  of  Israel  shall  be 
the  regeneration  of  the  world. 

Precisely  how  converted  Israel  shall  become  the  regenerator 
of  the  whole  Gentile  world — be  as  life  from  the  dead  to  the 
vast  realms  of  spiritual  death,  we  may  not  be  able  fully  to  ex- 
plain. 

Yet  we  can  see  how  the  conversion  itself  of  such  a  people  shall 
so  reassure  the  people  of  God  in  his  faithfulness  to  fulfil  his 
promises  and  execute  his  purposes,  shall  so  verify  a  long  and  in- 
teresting series  of  prophecies,  shall  send  home  conviction  to  the 
mind  of  skepticism  and  infidelity,  and  so  solemnly  enforce  on  the 
mind  of  the  entire  world  the  truth  of  Divine  Revelation  and  the 
certainty  that  not  a  jot  or  tittle  of  all  that  God  hath  spoken 
shall  go  unfulfilled,  as  to  be  an  overwhelming  means  of  the  con- 
version of  the  whole  world. 

But  vastly  more  than  this  is  doubtless  true.  The  Jews  once 
converted  shall  have  a  most  successful  agency  in  the  conversion 
of  the  world.  They  shall  be  again,  as  they  once  were,  the  most 
energetic  and  effective  missionaries.    Scattered  as  they  are  among 


132  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

all  nations  and  acquainted  with  every  language  on  the  face  of  the 
earth;  inured  to  every  climate ;  familiar  with  the  religion,  phi- 
losophy, literature,  the  manners  and  customs  of  every  people ; 
possessed  of  immense  learning  and  greater  wealth,  and  endowed 
with  uncommon  energy  and  perseverance,  they  will  be  prepared, 
if  once  energized  with  the  ommnipotent  Spirit,  to  go  forth,  such 
missionaries  as  the  Church  has  not  had  since  the  days  of  the 
Apostles.  Rather,  they  would  become  missionaries — every  man 
in  the  land  of  his  own  home ;  and  thus  a  thousand  lights  would 
be  kindled  in  the  heart  of  every  nation  and  kingdom  on  the 
earth. 

Thus  possessed  of  the  gift  of  tongues,  and  aided  by  a  thousand 
modern  facilities  in  the  way  of  improved  modes  of  travel ;  of 
translations  of  the  Bible  into  almost  every  language  ;  of  the  Press 
in  its,  at  present,  astonishingly  increased  power ;  of  the  present 
condition  of  education  and  of  free  principles,  they  may  be  expect- 
ed to  evangelize  the  world  with  an  apostolic  rapidity.  They  would 
bring  to  bear  on  the  world  a  moral  power  which  no  other  people 
can.  This  power,  at  present  almost  dormant,  if  once  quickened 
into  life,  will  tell  delightfully  on  the  world's  regeneration.  And 
then  shall  it  be  acknowledged  in  a  depth  of  meaning  not  now 
comprehended,  that   Salvation  is  of  the  Jews. 

If  such  be  the  relative  position  which  this  extraordinary  people 
occupy  in  the  coming  conversion  of  the  world  to  God,  and  such 
the  part  they  are  to  act  in  that  illustrious  event,  we  may  feel  no 
difficulty  in  accepting  any  movement  among  this  people  as  a  sig- 
nal of  a  great  and  universal  movement  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Their  conversion  shall  precede  the  general  conversion  of 
the  world ;  and  as  we  see  signs  of  a  resuscitation  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  we  may  confidently  expect  that  the  consummation  of  all 
things  is  at  hand. 

But  do  we  see  such  a  movement  among  that  people  "^     Does 


CIVIL    CONDITION    OF    THE   JEWS.  183 

the  cloud  which  has  so  long  settled  down  upon  them  seem  to  be 
rising,  and  are  the  tribes  again  on  the  march  ?  I  think  they  are ; 
and  a  cursory  glance  at  their  present  condition  will  abundantly 
justify  such  an  opinion. 

I  shall  not  indulge  much  in  details  here  in  reference  to  the 
present  condition  of  the  Jews.  What  I  would  say  to  illustrate  my 
proposition,  has  been  said  in  another  place.*  Such  is  at  present 
the  civil  condition  of  the  Jews — such  the  feeling  and  sympathy 
for  them  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  Church — such  the  intellec- 
tual and  religious  movements  among  themselves — and  such  their 
favorable  disposition  to  receive  the  gospel,  and  its  present  success 
among  them,  as  to  hold  out  no  doubtful  indications  that  the  time 
to  "  favor  Zion"  draws  near.  And  then  shall  the  "  Gentiles  come 
to  her  light  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  her  rising." 

But  a  few  years  since  the  Jews,  among  almost  all  nations,  were 
compelled  to  live  under  the  most  oppressive  civil  disabilities.  They 
were  outlaws — had  no  rights.  It  was  no  sin  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  and  scarcely  of  the  Church,  to  abuse  and  persecute  a  Jew. 
But  how  changed  his  civil  condition  now !  Those  oppressive  acts 
have  been  repealed  by  almost  every  nation.  This  movement 
among  the  nations — this  abatement  of  prejudice,  is  a  prognostic 
of  coming  good — an  index  that  the  long  night  of  their  abandon- 
ment approaches  its  close,  and  the  day  of  their  redemption  is  at 
hand. 

And  more  than  this :  there  is  a  movement  in  the  camp  of  Israel 
itself — a  shaking  among  the  ''  dry  bones."  Jewish  mjnd  is  roused 
— their  prejudices  abated — their  bigotry  less  rigid.  Many  gladly 
receive  the  New  Testament,  and  the  teachings  of  the  missionary ; 
and  yet  more  entertain  a  growing  distrust  of  the  Talmud  and  the 
teachings  of  the  Rabbles.     Weary  of  their  vain  waitings  for  the 

*  Chapter  nineteenth,  vol.  i.  of  "  God  in  History." 


184  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

Messiah,  some  acknowledge,  and  others  entertain  a  half-formed 
conviction,  that  He  has  come  already. 

Such  a  state  of  mind,  when  taken  in  connection  with  the  grow- 
ing interest  and  sympathy  in  their  behalf  on  the  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  is  a  star  of  hope  for  benighted  Israel.  Neglect  and 
contempt  had  soured  and  alienated  their  minds  against  all  Chris- 
tendom. They  looked  on  Christians  as  enemies,  in  whose  hearts 
there  was  no  flesh  to  feel  for  a  Jew.  They  are  now  beginning  to 
learn  that  Christianity  has  a  heart  to  pity,  and  an  arm  to  embrace 
the  long  forgotten  children  of  Judah. 

And  there  is  another  sign  in  the  Jewish  horizon.  It  is  a  move- 
ment in  the  Jewish  mind  towards  their  beloved  Jerusalem.  And 
there  are  movements  in  Palestine  and  in  reference  to  the 
Holy  Land  which  seem  to  be  inaugurating  a  state  of  things  * 
that  shall  at  no  distant  day  invite  the  return  of  the  scattered 
tribes  to  the  land  of  their  long-cherished  hopes  and  desires.  Says 
an  intelligent  Prussian,  "  there  is  a  general  movement  of  inquiry, 
and  a  longing  expectation  abroad,  that  something  will  take  place 
to  restore  them  to  the  land  of  their  fathers."  "  For  better  or 
for  worse,"  says  another,  "  they  are  on  the  move.  Old  chains  are 
being  severed.  Old  opinions,  associations  and  observances  are 
being  broken  up." 

And  here  I  cannot  forbear  quoting  the  very  valuable  testimony 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Bellson,  a  converted  Jew  and  Missionary  in  Posen, 
and  late  candidate  for  the  Bishopric  of  Jerusalem :  "  I  am  more 
than  ever  impressed  that  the  Jews  are  hastening  to  a  great  crisis. 
It  must  be  evident  to  any  common  observer,  there  is  a  great  move- 

*Dr.  Magowan,  resident  at  Jerusalem,  says :  "  An  extraordinary  change  has  come  over 
Jerusalem.  It  is  no  longer  a  city  which  '  no  man  seeketh  after.'  It  is  now  the  resort  of 
the  wealthy  and  the  great  ones  of  the  earth.  Large  purchases  of  houses  and  lands  are 
made  by  agents  of  European  governments,  and  establishments  on  a  large  and  magnificent 
scale  will  be  shortly  made  in  the  neighborhood."  Lady  Polack,  a  wealthy  Jewess,  has 
purchased  the  Mount  of  Olives — a  Ilailway  is  about  to  be  constructed  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  Jerusalem. 


GOD    AND    THE    TRUTH.  135 

ment  among  them.  This  wonderful  people,  who  for  1800  years 
remained  unaltered,  have  undergone  a  marvellous  change  within 
the  last  forty  years,  especially  the  last  twenty  years.  They  are 
in  a  transition  state.  Thousands,  convicted  of  the  hollowness  and 
rottenness  of  Rabbinism,  and  therefore  thrown  it  off,  feel  a  vacuum 
in  their  souls,  which  Christian  truth  alone  can  fill.  The  Talmud 
is  sinking  fast,  and  its  giving  up  the  ghost  cannot  be  far  off." 

Such  are  facts  connected  with  the  present  condition  of  the  Jews. 
And  do  they  not  afford  increasing  and  decisive  evidence  that  the 
time  draws  near  when  the  Father  of  Jacob  shall  again  smile  on 
his  wayward,  wandering  children,  and  bring  them  back  to  their 
native  hills,  and  accept  their  services  in  their  beloved  Zion.  God 
has  not  cast  off  his  people.  They  are  dear  to  him  as  the  apple 
of  his  eye.  "  The  Lord  shall  arise  and  have  mercy  upon  Zion, 
for  the  time  to  favor  her  is  come." 

But  we  must  not  forget  that  the  destiny  of  the  nations  is  sus- 
pended on  providential  movements  connected  with  the  Jews. 
Any  divine  purpose  fulfilled  to  Israel,  or  any  movement  in  their 
camp,  involves  in  it  a  series  of  purposes  and  movements  towards 
the  Gentile  world.  We  are  then  again  conducted  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  approaching  a  crisis  which  will 
soon  bring  her  into  sore  collision  with  the  enemies  of  the  truth — 
a  crisis  in  human  affairs  of  intense  interest  to  the  whole  race. 
Truth  is  rapidly  approaching  its  fiery  trial  and  final  consumma- 
tion. The  two  belligerent  parties  are  arraying  themselves  for  the 
conflict.  There  will  be  no  neutral  ground — if  not  for  God  and 
the  truth,  we  are  against  him.  But  God  will  conquer — the  truth 
will  prevail. 

How  important,  then,  that  we  be  found  on  the  Lord's  side. 
Never  has  there  been  a  time  when  the  people  of  God  were  more 
loudly  called  upon  to  put  on  the  whole  armor,  and  having  done 
all,  to  stand.     "  For  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 


136  THE  COMING  CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  dark- 
ness of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places." 
"We  have  need  of  all  the  courage,  all  the  decision,  all  the  piety,  all 
the  holy  energies  of  prophets,  apostles,  reformers  or  martyrs. 
While  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  is,  in  such  quick  succession, 
accomplishing  his  great  purposes ;  while  he  is  hastening  on  all 
things  to  their  last  and  great  consummation,  shall  we  not  stand 
in  our  lot  ?  Shall  we  not  cheerfully  yield  to  him  our  poor  ser- 
vices, and  give  him  our  unworthy  instrumentality  .''  Now  is  the 
exigency  in  God's  cause  on  earth,  and  if  we  will  not  step  in  now 
and  come  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  when  the  mighty  oppose,  are 
we  worthy  of  our  high  calling  ?  Can  we  expect  to  be  called  in 
to  share  in  the  victory  if  we  are  not  ready  to  bear  the  burden 
and  danger  of  the  warfare?  Loudly,  indeed,  do  the  signs  of  the 
times  call  on  all  who  profess  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  be  up  and 
doing. 


CHAPTER  X. 

More  signs  of  the  times— Want  of  reverence,  of  loyalty— Signs  in  the 
Church — Abounding  wickedness. 

In  previous  chapters  I  have  pointed  out  several  appearances 
which,  go  to  sustain  the  proposition  "  that  the  Christian  Church, 
the  *  witnesses'  for  the  truth,  approaches  her  last  and  great  con- 
flict with  the  Beast : "  and  not  with  the  Papal  Beast  merely,  but 
the  Beast  under  his  modern  guise,  and  in  his  new  mode  of  attack 
-^a  great,  conjoint  Antichristian  Power,  made  up  of  the  Infidel- 
ity of  Paganism,  Mohammedanism  and  the  Papacy,  modernized 
and  nominally  Christianized  to  suit  the  spirit  of  the  age,  its  ruling 
deity ;  and  yet  incorporated  and  nominally  lost  in  the  fogs  of 
modern  Infidelity ;  which  we  represented  as  a  subtle,  covert  Infi- 
delity, disguised  under  the  garb  of  a  pretendedly  purer  Chris- 
tianity, laboring  by  every  plausible  means  to  undermine  and  kill 
what  it  calls  the  "  Christianity  of  the  Churches  "  by  many  a  well- 
directed,  yet  covert  blow  at  the  Christian  Church,  her  ministry, 
her  Bible  and  her  Sabbaths.  It  was  shown,  too,  that  this  pecu- 
liar species  of  Infidelity,  this  last  great  resource  of  the  Devil,  to 
prop  up  his  waning  empire  and  to  oppose  the  Church — this  most 

ti:i7) 


138  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    TKE    WORLD. 

effective,  and  most-to-be  feared  form  of  Infidelitj,  has  sprung  up 
of  late  almost  simultaneously  in  different  countries  of  Europe 
and  of  America,  organized  under  different  names,  but  one  in 
spirit  and  in  aim. 

I  shall  now  name  one  or  two  indications  more  of  the  approach- 
ing conflict. 

14.  The  present  striking  want  of  reverence — loyalty — respect 
for  authority,  indicates  some  great  revolutionary  struggle. 

Our  age  is  characterized  by  a  fearful  spirit  of  lawlessness.  The 
yoke  of  restraint  is  galling.  Men  talk  of  their  rights  as  if  they 
alone  of  all  the  world  had  rights.  The  impulse  of  the  age  is  to 
resist  as  oppressive,  all  laws  and  restraints  which  do  not  favor 
their  own  wishes  or  interests.  Hence  outbreaks  of  violence  in 
the  shape  of  mobs  and  riots.  Hence  the  difficulty  of  enforc- 
ing laws  for  the  suppression  of  sin,  as  Sabbath- breaking,  intem- 
perance, gambling.  Men  are  determined  to  do  as  they  please, 
despite  the  will  or  pleasure,  the  peace  or  interest  of  others.  This 
is  the  spirit  of  the  age.  It  is  unrestrained  selfishness.  Covet- 
ousness  is  the  sin  of  the  world — and  would  to  God  it  were  not 
the  sin  of  the  Church.     It  is  a  selfish  age. 

Now  whoever  will  be  at  the  trouble  to  examine,  will  find  this 
to  be  the  characteristic  of  the  times  which  should  precede  the 
last  great  conflict.  Says  St*  Paul  (2  Tim.  iii.  1 — 5) :  "  This  know 
also,  that  in  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come.  For  men 
shall  be  lovers  of  themselves ;  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphe- 
mous, disobedient  to  parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  without  natural 
affection,  truce-breakers,  false  accusers,  incontinent,  fierce,  despis- 
ers  of  them  that  are  good,  traitors,  heady,  high-minded,  lovers  of 
pleasure  more  than  lovers  of  God ;  having  the  form  of  godliness, 
but  denying  the  power." 

Here  is  portrayed  a  spirit  of  general  insubordination,  and  of 
recklessness  of  obhgations  throughout  all  the  varied  relations  of  life. 


SELFISHNESS    OF    THE    PRESENT    DAY.  139 

From  the  violator  of  national  treaties,  or  "  truce-breakers,"  down 
through  all  the  social,  religious,  domestic  and  individual  relations, 
to  the  pert  and  disobedient  child,  the  prophetic  eye  of  Paul  fore- 
saw there  would  be  an  all-pervading  spirit  of  lawless7iess. 

How  far  this  description  applies  to  our  times  facts  must  deter- 
mine. Is  the  present  or  is  it  not,  a  day  of  peculiar  selfishness, 
pride,  self-conceit,  insubordination  and  blasphemy  ?  Is  our  day 
inglorious  tor  covenant-breaking,  in  the  Church  and  out  of  it  ? — in 
the  nation  and  among  societies  and  individuals  ?  Is  not  the  pres- 
ent an  age  of  unblushing  licentiousness,  of  impatience  of  restraint, 
developed  in  a  thousand  forms,  whether  of  pride,  or  the  love  of 
power,  or  pleasure,  or  sensual  gratification  ?  Men  scorn  that  law, 
human  or  divine — that  public  sentiment — that  the  fear  of  man 
or  God,  should  interpose  between  them  and  the  gratification  of 
their  desires. 

Was  there  ever  a  time  when  men  were  so  "  high-minded  "  and 
"  heady  " — so  wise  in  their  own  conceits — so  "  fierce  "  in  the  sup- 
port of  their  own  dogmas  ? 

Again,  the  apostle  Peter  says :  "  In  the  last  days,  there  shall 
come  scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts  "—determined  to  live 
as  they  please  in  spite  of  social  or  religious  restraint,  or  of  law, 
human  or  divine.  And  Daniel  says  in  reference  to  the  same 
period :  "  The  wicked  shall  do  wickedly  '* — shall  abound  in  wicked- 
ness. It  is  hatred  of  authority — rebellion  in  the  broad  sense  of 
the  term.  Who  is  God  that  we  should  serve  him  ? — who  is  man 
that  we  should  regard  him  ?  We  will  not  have  this  man  to  reign 
over  us.  Let  us  break  their  bonds  asunder  and  cast  away  their 
cords  from  us. 

If  you  will  allow  the  mind  to  recur  for  a  moment  to  some  of 
the  developments  of  our  age,  you  will  not  hesitate  to  identify  them 
as  fulfilments  of  the  predictions  of  the  apostle.  There  is,  in 
the  first  place,  a  want  of  respect  for  established  institutions.     Yea, 


140  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

more,  there  is  a  hatred  of  them.  In  religion,  in  morals,  in  poli- 
tics, in  social  and  domestic  relations,  large  classes  of  men  tread 
with  vandal  step  on  the  long-tried  institutions  of  their  fathers,  and 
trample  down  the  long  ago  venerated  structures  of  wisdom  and 
experience.  I  have  already  pointed  to  numerous  and  extensive 
organizations,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  whose  end  and 
aim  is  to  prostrate  at  their  feet  all  law  and  authority — to  break 
up  the  foundations  of  all  social  order,  to  put  far  away  religious 
restraints,  to  sever  marriage  ties  and  scatter  family  relations  to 
the  four  winds.  They  would  leave  men  to  act  as  dictated  by  pas- 
sion. Under  the  magic  spell  of  "  Men's  rights  "  and  "  Women's 
rights,"  they  subvert  all  right,  all  order,  all  decency. 

There  is,  ia  a  word,  a  fearful  tendency  to  throw  off  the  bonds 
of  restraint.  The  fire  of  loyalty  in  the  old  world,  burns  with 
less  strength  than  it  was  wont  to  burn.  Among  the  nations  of 
Europe  there  is  the  appearance  of  a  mighty  convulsion  at  hand. 
Men  are  growing  restive  under  the  yoke  of  despotism.  The  prin- 
ciples of  liberty,  political  and  religious,  have  taken  deep  root,  and 
are  now  beginning  to  bear  fruit.  Men  no  longer  feel  themselves 
to  be  the  property  o?  a  sovereign  or  a  master,  but  assert  their  un- 
alienable rights  as  men.  Nations,  societies,  churches,  individuals, 
are  evidently  now  passing  through  a  transition  state.  Commotion 
and  overturning  is  the  order  of  the  day,  indicative  of  the  break- 
ing up  of  an  old  order  of  things  and  the  introduction  of  a  new. 
Much  that  is  wrong  will  be  broken  up,  much  that  is  right.  Such 
are  fearful  times  because  there  are  so  many  fearful  energies  at 
work. 

The  most  careful  and  honest  observers  of  the  signs  of  the  times 
see,  or  think  they  see,  portentous  sights.  They  tell  us  "  perilous 
times  "  are  at  hand,  and  warn  us  to  be  prepared.  And,  inasmuch 
as  the  aspect  of  our  times  corresponds  with  the  predicted  forerun- 


SIGNS REVIVALS    OF   RELIGION.  141 

ners  of  that  great  convulsion  which  shall  shake  heaven  and  earth — 
the  Church  and  the  world — the  warning  is  not  a  needless  one. 

15.  The  Church  gives  signs  that  the  ^^  great  and  notable  day 
of  the  Lord  "  is  at  hand.  God  has  begun  to  humble  his  people, 
to  make  them  feel  their  dependence  on  sovereign  power  and 
free  grace.  But  is  the  Church  humbling  herself  and  feeling  her 
dependence  ?  It  is  one  thing  to  he  humbled^  another  to  be  humble, 
God  may,  for  our  sins,  bring  us  low,  yet  in  our  pride  and  self- 
righteousness  we  may  exalt  ourselves  and  still  provoke  the  divine 
indignation.  There  ure  but  too  many  indications,  at  the  present 
time,  that  God  is  about  to  allow  his  Church  again  to  be  prostrated 
in  the  dust,  and  the  enemy  for  a  short  space  to  triumph  over  her. 
All  over  Christendom  are  ominous  signs*  The  apostasies  from 
the  faith  and  the  apathy  of  the  Church  at  such  a  day  as  this,  be- 
tokens a  day  of  trial.  There  is  something,  too,  in  connection 
with  the  very  revivals  of  religion^  and  the  benevolent  enterprises 
of  the  Church,  not  without  alarm. 

There  is  not  a  more  marked  dispensation  of  mercy  towards 
Zion  than  is  to  be  read  in  the  revivals  of  religion  of  late  years. 
The  windows  of  heaven  have  been  opened,  and  showers  of  grace, 
rich  and  copious  beyond  any  former  precedent,  have  fertiUzed  our 
parched  and  mourning  Zion.  Many  hearts  have  been  made  glad, 
and  thousands  begun  the  song  of  redeeming  love  on  earth,  to  be 
consummated  in  higher  and  holier  strains  on  Mount  Zion  above. 

But  has  not  this  richest  boon  of  heaven's  love  been  abused  ? 
Has  not  strange  fire  been  laid  on  the  altar  ?  Has  not  the  ingrat- 
itude and  presumption  of  man  cast  a  cloud  over  the  brightest  radi- 
ance of  heaven  towards  our  benighted  world  ?  In  our  self-depend- 
ence and  complacency  we  were  beginning  to  feel,  we  could  make 
revivals — we  could  convert  souls,  I  had  almost  said — we  could  open 
and  no  man  shut.  We  were  vain  in  our  imaginations,  and  God 
brought  a  blight  over  our  fairest  prospects.     We  humbly  and  con- 


142  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

fidently  hope  the  late  wonderful  work  of  grace  is  mixed  with  more 
faith  and  dependence  and  humility  than  any  previous  work  which 
has  blessed  the  Church,  and  that  its  results  will  be  altogether 
happy  and  lasting.  But  should  not  all  our  high-raised  hopes 
be  realized,  we  need  not  marvel  as  if  some  strange  thing  had  hap- 
pened. The  heavenly  is  still  mixed  up  with  the  earthly.  Too 
often  does  the  gold  become  dim,  and  the  most  fine  gold  changed. 

The  same  may  be  said  in  respect  to  other  measures  of  the 
Church.  She  contributes  funds  for  the  evangelization  of  the 
world ;  sends  out  men  ;  engages  many  agencies  in  her  behalf,  and 
presses  on  with  a  zeal  worthy  so  good  a  cause.  The  Lord  of  the 
harvest  prepares  the  way  and  prospers  their  going  forth.  So 
many  are  ready  to  give — so  many  more  to  talk  and  wish  a  good 
cause  well,  and  so  many  have  been  willing  to  go  abroad,  that  we 
are  in  danger  of  feeling  that  the  conversion  of  the  world  rests  on 
our  shoulders;  and  as  the  work  advances,  to  look  upon  it  as  if 
our  hands  had  wrought  out  salvation  for  a  perishing  world. 

In  proportion  as  such  becomes  the  state  of  the  Church,  we  may 
look  for  a  rebuke.  Spiritual  pride  goeth  before  destruction,  and 
a  self-righteous  spirit  before  a  full.  God  will  not  give  his  glory 
to  another.  He  is  a  jealous  God.  If  his  people  get  proud  of 
their  works  or  their  graces  He  will  rebuke  them.  Persecu- 
tions will  arise  ;  unexpected  forms  of  error  assail ;  conflicts  betide, 
and  they  seem  shut  up,  so  that  no  power  on  earth  can  relieve 
them.  The  great  Head  suffers  them  to  be  brought  into  straits 
that  they  may  learn  where  their  strength  lies. 

Is  not  such  the  condition  of  the  American  Church,  if  not  of  the 
Church  universally,  at  the  present  time  ?  God  has  in  a  remark- 
ble  manner  opened  our  way  to  the  Gentile  world,  and  provided 
unprecedented  facilities  to  enable  us  speedily  to  fulfil  the  com- 
mand :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world."  Yet  what  is  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  missionary  work  ?    It  stands  hovering  between  hope 


ABOUNDING    WICKEDNESS    OF    THE    WICKED.  143 

and  fear.  Hope  beckons  onward.  Fear  suggests  that  the  wide 
and  effectual  door  now  open,  may,  through  the  apathy  of  the 
Church  to  enter,  be  in  a  measure  closed,  and  the  dark  cloud, 
which  seemed  rising  and  scattering,  soon  again  settle  down  on  the 
broad  plains  of  Idolatry.  Every  enterprise  is,  for  the  want  of 
funds  and  missionaries,  retarded,  or  again  in  danger  of  being  sus- 
pended. Has  not  the  Lord  a  controversy  with  his  people  that 
he  will  not  accept  this  service  at  their  hands,  and  allow  them  the 
honor  of  final  success  ?  And  may  we  not  expect  that  before  Zion 
shall  spread  her  wings  over  the  whole  earth  and  shadow  the  na- 
tions, before  her  Lord  shall  clothe  her  in  the  strength  and  beauty 
of  heaven,  for  her  final  and  glorious  triumph,  he  will  bring  her 
into  the  very  dust  of  debasement,  divesting  her  of  all  self-reliance. 

These  things  intimate  that  the  Church,  like  every  thing  beneath 
the  skies,  is  not  perfect — ^that  there  is  much  in  the  Church  which 
does  not  please  God.  He  will,  therefore,  sift  her — humble  her — 
deliver  her  for  a  time  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines  for  her 
chastisement ;  yet  God  will  not  cast  off  his  people.  Though  he 
chasten  them,  they  are  dear  to  him  as  the  apple  of  his  eye. 

1 6.  In  connection  with  the  apathy  and  defection  of  the  Church, 
I  name  as  the  last  sign  of  the  coming  conflict  which  I  sliall  men- 
tion, the  abounding  wickedness  of  the  wicked. 

If,  as  you  cast  your  eye  over  the  face  of  society,  you  discover 
vice  to  be  bold  and  aggressive ;  sinners  hardened  in  sin ;  infidel- 
ity covert  and  disguised,  sapping  the  very  foundations  of  our 
Religion  under  the  delusive  pretext  of  introducing  a  more  excel- 
lent way  ;  if  an  all-pervading  selfishness  characterize  the  inter- 
course of  man  with  man ;  if  rectitude  and  honesty  be  rare,  and 
our  age  so  corrupt  that  man  is  scarcely  expected  to  act  except  as 
prompted  by  selfish  interest — if  there  is  found  to  be,  as  has  been 
intimated,  any  thing  like  the  forming  of  a  grand  confederacy  of 
the  different  systems  of  iniquity  and  infidelity,  a  rising  up  of  a  new 


144  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

form  of  the  Beast,  animated  by  the  same  spirit  of  hostility  to  the 
truth,  yet  in  the  stolen  robes  of  the  truth ;  and  if,  on  on  the  other 
band,  when  iniquity  comes  in  like  a  flood  there  be  but  few  to 
set  up  a  standard  against  it,  apathy  having  come  over  large  por- 
tions of  the  Church,  you  have  but  too  much  reason  to  regard  the 
signs  of  the  times  as  ominous— just  what  are  foretold  as  precur- 
sors of  the  great  conflict — ^fulfilments  of  such  scriptures  as  I  have 
quoted :  "  The  wicked  shall  do  exceeding  wickedly  " — "  Iniquity 
shall  abound  " — "  The  love  of  many  wax  cold " — Sin  shall  be- 
come reckless  and  unrestrained.  "Iniquity  shall  come  in  like 
a  flood,"  and  few  shall  be  found  to  raise  a  standard  against  it. 

This,  in  connection  with  the  'predicted  apostasies  and  the  rising 
up  of  false  prophets  which  should  immediately  precede  the  "  per- 
ilous times  '*  of  the  latter  days,  confirms  the  view  of  the  subject  I 
have  taken.  St.  Paul  says  expressly  that  ^Hhat  day  shall  not 
come  except  there  come  a  falling  away  firsts  and  that  Man  of 
Sin  be  revealed,  the  Son  of  perdition."  The  abounding  of  sin  is 
to  be  accompanied  by  a  great  apostasy  or  falling  away  in  the 
Church.     Both  these  are  found  sadly  true  of  our  times. 

A  few  years  past  have  been  remarkably  signalized  for  apos- 
tasies bofh  in  the  Church  and  among  her  clergy.  Recall  what 
I  have  said  of  apostasies  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  recall 
what,  in  many  a  sad  case,  has  transpired  elsewhere,  and  ours  will 
be  marked  as  a  day  of  falling  away. 

And  equally,  I  apprehend,  shall  we  find  the  present  a  day  of 
false  prophets — and  of  jiist  such  hind  of  false  prophets  too  as 
should  characterize  the  period  in  question.  They  should  be  sub- 
tle, plausible  teachers,  ostensibly,  of  the  truth — so  complete  a 
counterfeit  of  the  true  as  with  difficulty  to  be  distinguished — ''  in- 
asmuch, if  it  were  possible,  to  deceive  the  very  elect." 

Facts  must  determine  whether  such  prophets,  teachers,  guides 
or  leaders  have  risen  up  all  over  Christendom,  zealous  in  some 


ENEMY    TRIUMPHS DOUBTS.  145 

particulars,  denunciatory  in  all,  loose  in  moral  principle,  and 
utterly  defective  in  the  the  groundwork  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness. 

"  When  the  Son  of  man  cometh  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?" 
an  interogrtory  implying  that  when  Christ  shall  come  to  set  up 
his  kingdom  nearly  the  last  ray  of  Christian  piety  shall  have 
expired.  The  Church  shall  have  been  brought  into  a  state  of  de- 
basement the  most  helpless  and  hopeless,  from  which  nothing  short 
of  the  omnipotent  arm  of  her  Inmaanuel  can  deUver  her.  The  wit- 
nesses are  now  slain.  They  lay  dead  in  the  streets ;  and  the  enemy 
send  gifts  one  to  another,  and  rejoice  over  them.  The  Church  never 
saw  a  dai-ker  day.  But  this  is  the  hour  of  the  gracious  interpo- 
sition of  her  Lord.  The  faith  of  the  Church  needs  now  to  be,  in 
some  remarkable  manner,  reassured.  The  enemy  have  been 
allowed  so  strangely  to  triumph  over  her — she  is  so  completely 
overwhelmed — ^the  gates  of  hell  seem  so  to  have  prevailed  against 
her,  that  she  begins  to  waver  in  her  faith,  to  half  doubt  the  prom- 
ises of  her  Lord.  Since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  they  despair  of 
his  coming. 

Such  a  state  of  the  Church  seems  aptly  represented  by  one  of 
the  closing  scenes  in  the  life  of  John  the  Baptist.  He  had  under- 
stood himself  to  be  the  forerunner  of  Christ.  He  had  pointed 
out  the  man  of  Nazareth  to  the  multitude  and  declared  him  to 
be  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  Messiah,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.  He  had  heard  his  words  and  witnessed  his  wonderful 
works ;  and  had  unreservedly  recognized  him  to  be  the  expected 
Messiah :  and  he  fully  believed  in  the  increase  of  his  kingdom 
and  its  universal  extension  over  the  whole  earth.  Yet  when  he 
had  been  cast  into  prison,  and  the  enemy  allowed  to  triumph  over 
him,  and  darkness  and  doubt  allowed  to  come  over  his  soul,  his 
faith  staggered.  Had  he  not  been  mistaken  ?  If  he  were  the 
10 


146  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Christ,  and  himself,  as  he  had  supposed,  were  his  forerunner  and 
his  personal  friend,  why  had  these  things  befallen  him  ? 

Under  such  feelings  of  painful  suspense  and  failing  faith  he 
sent  messengers  to  Christ  to  ask  if  he  were  indeed  the  Christ,  or 
should  we  look  for  another  ?  Under  his  darkness  and  doubt  and 
extreme  depression  by  the  enemy,  he  needed  a  reassurance  of  the 
divinity  and  faithfulness  of  his  Saviour. 

So  the  Church  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak.  In  her  extreme 
depression  and  apparent  overthrow,  she  now  needs  a  renewal  of 
her  faith — a  reconfirmation  of  her  hopes.  And  "  the  coming  of 
Christ  with  clouds  "  with  his  mighty  angels,  and  flaming  fire,  will 
be  precisely  the  kind  of  confirmation  which  the  depressed  and 
down-trodden  saints  will  then  require.  Yet  we  do  not  suppose 
the  coming,  at  this  time,  will  be  personal.  He  shall  be  revealed 
in  great  power — shall  "  come  with  clouds,"  judgments,  mighty 
providential  displays.  These  may  be  the  "  mighty  angels  " — "the 
flaming  fire,"  by  which  he  shall  discomfit  his  foes :  and  tiiese  the 
manifestations  by  which  he  shall  reassure  his  people ;  or,  as  the 
apostle  says,  shall  "  be  glorified  in  his  saints  and  be  admired  in 
them  that  believe." 

But  I  need  not  pursue  this  branch  of  the  subject.  The  signs  of 
the  times  indicate  a  mighty  conflict  at  hand.  The  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  are  breaking  up.  You  may  see  it  in  the  present  state 
of  the  Church — in  the  commotions  on  the  great  political  arena  of 
the  world ;  you  may  see  it  in  the  genius  of  revolution  abroad  on 
the  dark  and  turbid  waters  of  Paganism,  and  amidst  the  restless 
billows  of  Infidelity.  And  especially  you  may  see  it  in  that  gen- 
eral restiveness  of  control  which  has  so  strangely  seized  on  the 
minds  of  men  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  Ours  is  an  age  of 
rebellion,  not  yet  fully  developed,  but  smothered  for  a  more  fear- 
ful explosion.  It  is  a  warfare  between  Rulers  and  ruled — abused 
authority  on  the  one  hand;  aJmsed  liberty  on  the  other.     We 


WITNESSES    TO    BE    SLAIN.  147 

watch  with  intense  interest  the  awful  progress  of  the  car  of  war, 
as  at  the  present  hour  it  rolls  over  Europe.  Its  carnage  is  dread- 
ful ;  its  commotions  fearful.  It  is  the  awful  power  of  God  to 
break  down  and  destroy — to  remove  out  of  the  way  those  great 
and  formidable  civil  despotisms  and  hierarchies  which  hinder  the 
progress  of  his  kingdom.  But  we  confidently  expect,  when  the 
smoke  of  the  battle-field  shall  have  passed  away  and  the  "  con- 
fused noise  "  of  the  warrior  and  "  garments  rolled  in  blood  "  shall 
be  forgotten,  sweet  Peace  shall  return  to  the  earth,  and  the  angel 
preaching  the  everlasting  gospel  shall  ploclaim  that  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  have  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ. 

It  will  again  be  seen  that  the  position  attempted  to  be  estab- 
lished in  these  chapters  leads  once  more  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
"  Witnesses,"  by  which  I  understand  a  succession  of  godly  men, 
essentially  embodied  in  the  visible  Church,  are  yet  to  he  slain — 
that  their  slaying  means  the  great  conflict  which  truth  and  the 
true  Church  is  yet  to  encounter  from  the  combined  enemies  of  the 
truth — that  the  Beast,  the  personification  of  this  combined  hostil- 
ity, shall  change  the  mode  of  his  attack — put  on  a  Christian  garb, 
and,  under  the  pretext  of  carrying  out  the  spirit  of  the  age,  shall 
essay  to  break  down  and  trample  under  foot  our  old  landmarks, 
prostrate  the  walls  of  our  fold,  and  for  a  little  space,  sorely  gall 
the  flock.  This  rousing  up  and  rage  of  the  Beast  shall  be  a  con- 
sequence of  the  increased  light  and  real  progress  of  the  truth, 
producing  the  conviction  that  the  Church  will  triumph  and  event- 
ually make  all  men  feel  the  strength  of  her  cords  and  the  tight- 
ness of  her  bonds.  Seeing  this — that  his  time  is  short,  Satan  will 
enter  the  field  with  redoubled  rage — marshal  his  forces  under 
new  colors — colors  stolen  from  the  armory  of  heaven — and 
snatching  from  their  hands  the  very  weapons  of  the  sacramental 
host,  ApoUyon  mounts  the  car  and  is  ready  for  the  last  great  en- 


148  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

counter.  He  now  comes  up  to  battle,  not  as  heretofore  by  divis- 
ions, but  with  all  the  powers  of  darkness  confederated,  and  now 
animated  by  one  spirit,  hatred  of  the  Chuj-ch  and  the  truth. 

That  the  affairs  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world  are  verging  to 
such  a  crisis  I  have  little  doubt.  And  that  it  will  terminate  in  the 
complete  overthrow  of  the  wicked,  and,  after  a  temporary  (a  three 
and  a  half  years')  prostration  of  the  Witnesses,  they  shall  then 
arise  in  their  strength  and  glory — Zion  shall  put  on  her  beautiful 
garments — her  light  shall  shine,  ''  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  The  wicked  shall 
triumph,  yet  their  triumphing  shall  be  short,  and  their  overthrow 
signal  and  final. 

I  have  before  me  an  opinion  on  this  subject,  which,  from  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  I  regard  as  peculiarly  valuable.  It  is 
a  joint  letter  from  the  American  Mission  at  Constantinople, 
signed  by  Messrs.  Goodell  and  Dwight,  than  whom  no  two  men 
are  more  advantageously  situated,  or  better  qualified  to  form  a 
correct  opinion  on  such  a  subject. 

"  We  notice,"  say  they,  "  the  wide-spread  alarm  and  the  stern 
hostility  which  the  slightest  success  in  turning  men  from  darkness 
to  light  awakens ;  and  we  can  scarcely  be  mistaken  as  to  the  in- 
fluence of  future  and  more  decided  progress.  A  mighty  revolu- 
tion must  take  place,  and  in  the  course  of  its  accomplishment,  the 
ecclesiastical  and  moral  world  will  be  shaken  to  their  very  centre. 
We  cannot  hide  from  our  eyes  the  approaching  struggle,  the  gather- 
ing storm.  We  wish  not  to  hasten  it  prematurely,  but  we  dare  not 
try  to  avert  it.  It  will  come,  must  come,  and  ought  to  come.  No 
one  of  our  plans  can  be  accomplished  without  it,  no  one  of  our 
prayers  heard,  no  one  of  our  hopes  realized.  We  pray  that  God 
may  pour  out  his  spirit  on  this  people,  but  that  oannot  be  without 
producing  instant  commotion.  We  long  for  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners ;  but  this  soonest  of  all  things  will  turn  upside  down  this 


PREMONITION    OF    THE    COMING    CONFLICT.  149 

ecclesiastical  world.  There  is  no  possible  way  to  avoid  this  but 
by  concealing  the  light  of  the  truth." 

Ever  and  anon  we  descry  some  new  premonition  of  the  coming 
conflict.  A  voice  from  the  same  Mission,  after  the  lapse  of  years, 
utters  again  similar  notes  of  alarm.  The  commotions  in  India 
(connected  with  the  Sepoy  mutiny)  come  as  an  earthquake,  shak- 
ing the  whole  Mohammedan  world.  They  have  strangely  roused 
the  sleeping  animosities  of  the  Moslems  against  Christianity. 
And  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  inflammable  spirit  of  Mecca  should 
take  fire  at  the  first  intelligence  of  the  insurrection ;  and  how 
easy  it  would  be,  when  the  King  of  nations  shall  permit,  to  light 
up  the  torch  of  war  among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  A  con- 
federacy of  Pagan  and  Mohammedan  nations  against  evangelical 
Christian  nations,  in  which  nations  that  represent  a  corrupt  Chris- 
tianity might  very  naturally  be  drawn  in,  would  of  itself  at  once 
bring  on  the  great  Battle.  In  a  late  letter  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hamlin, 
of  Constantinople,  says :  "  The  rebellion  in  India  has  communi- 
cated a  singularly  excited  spirit  to  the  Turks.  The  fanati- 
cal party  make  great  and  effective  use  of  it.  Tens  of  thousands 
believe  that  it  originated  in  efforts  of  the  English  to  make  Mussul- 
mans Christians  by  force ;  and  that  all  the  English  have  done 
here  for  freedom  of  conscience  is  only  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  same  violent  conversion  of  Mussulmans  in  Turkey. 

"  This  storm  will  probably  soon  pass  over ;  but  it  is  an  indica- 
tion of  what  we  must  anticipate  in  the  future.  The  excitement 
against  missionaries,  personally  and  as  a  body,  is  just  now  very 
strong.  Fearful  indeed  is  the  trail  that  is  laid,  and,  when  the 
signal  shall  be  given,  the  least  spark  will  set  the  whole  on  fire." 
And  who  has  not  been  shocked  at  the  horrid  details  of  the  late 
Syrian  Massacre !  This  is  but  another  explosion  of  the  same 
internal  fires,  which  are  boiling,  and  surging,  and  gathering 
strength  for  a  final  and  dreadful  eruption.     The  Moslem's  hatred 


150  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

to  Christianity  is  as  virulent  as  death.  Though  smothered  for 
a  time,  it  has  lost  none  of  its  power :  and  his  "  wrath  "  shall  be 
all  the  greater  when  he  shall  "  know  that  he  hath  but  a  short 
time." 

The  Evangelists,  Matthew  and  Luke,  have  left  on  record  a 
vivid  and  thrilling  description  of  these  times :  "  The  sun  shall  he 
darkened  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall 
fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  he  shaken" 
Or  as  Luke  has  it :  "  There  shall  he  signs  in  the  sun  and  in  the 
moon  and  in  the  stars,  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations,  with 
perplexity,  the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring"  Which,  in  plain  lan- 
guage, means,  there  shall  be  a  most  alarming  prostration  of 
authority.  The  sun  shall  he  darkened — authority  shall  be  sub- 
verted— restraint  resisted.  The  moon  shall  cease  to  give  her  light 
— the  light  of  the  Church  shall  be  dimmed,  her  authority  rejected 
and  disdained.  The  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven — ministers  of  the 
gospel  shall  fall,  some  by  apostasy  and  sin,  more  by  being  driven 
from  their  charges,  and  bereft  of  their  influence,  and  the  author- 
ity of  their  instructions  lost  because  of  the  commotion  of  the 
times,  and  the  disorganizing  spirit  of  unreasonable  and  wicked 
men.  Many  in  the  Church  and  more  out  of  her  will  think 
they  can  do  God  no  greater  service  than  when  sapping  the 
foundations  of  confidence  in  his  ministers,  or  thrusting  them  from 
their  sacerdotal  orbits.  The  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  he  shaken 
— unheard  of  commotions  in  the  ecclesiastical  world.  Upon  the 
earth  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity,  the  sea  and  the  waves 
roaring — political  eruptions,  commercial  distresses,  the  outbreak- 
ings  of  violence  among  the  common  people  in  the  form  of  riots,  and 
mobs,  and  revolutions.  The  sea  and  the  waves  roaring — men  of 
loose  principles  and  infidel  sentiments,  "  rising  in  ungovernable 
rage,  throwing  off  all  restraints,  and  spreading  consternation  and 
panic"  among  men. 


"distress  of  nations."  151 

If  there  be  something  in  our  times  which  looks  Hke  this,  then, 
"  lift  up  your  heads,"  ye  saints,  for  "  your  redemption,"  after  a 
short  and  severe  rebuff,  hastens  on  apace.  And  "  mourn,"  ye 
sinners,  as  ye  see  ^^  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
with  great  power  and  glory : "  for  he  comes,  "  revealed  in  flam- 
ing fire,"  to  take  vengeance  on  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel. 

We  venture  to  add  to  this  chapter  a  few  paragraphs  which 
recently  appeared  in  the  Puritan  Recorder.  They  are  so  much  in 
harmony  with  our  views,  and  withal  so  pertinent  to  the  times,  that 
they  seem  to  claim  a  place  in  this  connection  : 

"  Christ  foretold,  that  preparatory  to  his  coming,  there  should  be, 
^  upon  the  earth,  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity.*  He  has  not 
clearly  defined  what  coming  of  his  is  to  be  thus  preceded.  Nor 
is  it  needful  for  us  to  have  such  a  definition ;  for  it  seems  that  the 
introduction  of  every  new  era  of  light  to  his  kingdom,  has  its 
period  of  conflict  and  painful  trial  to  precede  it.  The  whole  cre- 
ation groaneth  and  travaileth  together  in  pain,  to  be  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  corruption.  There  are  doubtless  to  be  many 
of  these  bitter  throes  and  pains,  before  the  full  consummation  of 
the  glory  of  Christ.  But  if  *  distress  of  nations '  is  one  of  the 
precursors  of  a  brighter  day,  we  have  now  the  means  of  quick- 
ening our  hopes  for  its  advancement. 

"  The  pressure  of  God's  hand  upon  many  of  the  nations  of  the 
world  is  now  heavy.  Our  own  nation  is  having  a  remarkable 
experience.  In  the  midst  of  an  abundance  of  all  the  products 
of  the  field,  an  actual  famine  of  bread  is  staring  us  in  the  face. 
Immense  multitudes  of  the  people  have  been  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment, and  thus  out  of  the  necessary  means  of  subsistence.  And 
the  financial  crisis  which  here  began,  is  now  extending  itself  over 
the  nations  of  Europe  ;  so  that  the  commerce  of  the  world  is  to 
feel  the  stroke  of  the  palsy  in  every  limb. 

"  But  this  financial  crisis  is  only  one  item  in  the  present  distress 


152  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WOELD. 

of  nations.  Our  mother  country,  having  had  scarcely  time  to 
breathe  freely  after  the  exhausting  war  with  Russia,  has  found 
herself  suddenly  involved  in  another  war,  and  that  with  the  whole 
of  Eastern  Asia.  Over  her  vast  domains  in  India  the  curse 
of  civil  war  is  sweeping ;  and  the  hundred  millions  in  China  seem 
to  be  at  war,  not  only  with  the  most  powerful  of  foreign  nations, 
but  also  among  themselves.  How  much  of  the  distress  of  nations 
is  involved  in  such  a  wide-sweeping  extent  of  warfare,  it  is  not 
easy  for  us  at  this  distance  to  conceive.  Here,  then,  we  have, 
*  upon  the  earth,  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity ;  the  sea  and 
the  waves  roaring,  and  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for 
looking  after  those  things  which  are  coming  upon  the  earth.' 

"  In  such  clouds  as  these,  the  Redeemer  is  wont  to  come  when 
he  extends  his  spiritual  reign  upon  the  earth.  In  the  figure  of 
the  poet,  these  clouds  are  the  dust  that  waits  upon  his  sultry  march 
when  he  visits  earth  in  mercy.  These  judgments  which  are  abroad, 
awake  more  of  expectation  and  of  hope,  from  their  coming  at  a 
time  when  so  many  evangelizing  agencies  are  abroad  in  the  world, 
accompanied  by  so  much  of  the  quickening  breath  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Never  since  the  primitive  days  of  the  Christian  Church, 
was  so  much  done,  and  with  so  much  success,  to  extend  the  gos- 
pel to  those  who  have  it  not.  It  is  well  for  us  to  look  upon  these 
remarkable  providences,  as  intended  enforcements  of  God's  word 
of  grace  now  sent  forth  to  the  nations.  God,  in  saying  to  his 
Son,  '  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  the  rod  of  iron ;  thou  shalt 
dash  them  in  pieces  as  a  potter's  vessel,'  says  in  the  same  con- 
nection— '  Be  wise  now,  therefore,  O  ye  kings,  be  instructed,  ye 
judges  of  the  earth ;  serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with 
trembling  ;  kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from  the 
way  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little.' 

"  But  we  commenced  these  few  remarks  with  a  special  reference 
to  the  spiritual  impression  upon  our  own  nation,  to  be  received 


god's  spirit  on  the  churches  153 

from  our  present  distress.  It  is  obvious,  at  a  glance,  that  our 
calamities  are  in  their  nature  adapted  to  rebuke  our  most  preva- 
lent sins,  and  lead  to  that  spiritual  impression  which  is  needed  by 
us  as  a  people.  If  God  were  about  to  pour  out  his  Spirit  on  the 
churches,  and  on  the  masses  of  our  people,  these  providences 
might  operate  as  an  admirable  means  of  the  conviction  of  sin, 
and  of  turning  men  to  God.  And  who  shall  say,  that  this  is  not 
the  great  purpose  of  these  remarkable  visitations  ?  In  this  view, 
these  are  times  which  invite  and  encourage  special  earnestness  in 
our  supplications  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  When  God's 
judgments  are  abroad  in  the  earth,  it  is  a  time  for  the  inhabitants 
thereof  to  learn  righteousness.  Then,  especially,  is  a  time  to 
hope  and  pray  for  the  putting  forth  of  his  saving  power." 

The  closing  remarks  of  this  writer  seem  prophetic.  God  has 
*•  poured  out  his  Spirit  on  the  churches,  and  on  the  masses  of  the 
people ; "  and  "  these  providences  "  have  operated  "  as  an  admira- 
ble means  of  turning  men  to  God."  And  we  may  now  believe 
that  this  is  the  "  great  purpose  of  these  remarkable  visitations." 

It  only  remains  to  add  here,  that  if  there  is  discovered  a  seem- 
ing discrepancy  between  the  unfavorable  features  pointed  out  in  the 
foregoing  chapter,  and  the  favorable  features  of  our  age  as  they  at 
present  appear  in  connection  with  the  extensive  and  delightful 
religious  revivals  of  the  present  day,  I  have  only  to  say,  there  is 
no  discrepancy.  This  is  only  what  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet 
Daniel :  "  Many  shall  be  purified,  and  made  white  and  tried  ;  but 
the  wicked  shall  do  wickedly"  As  light  increases,  as  divine  influ- 
ences are  more  active,  and  their  effects  more  ostensible,  and  as 
tlie  ranks  of  the  adversary  are  seen  to  be  thinning,  and  his  cause 
waning,  he  is  wont  to  come  to  the  rescue.  The  only  wonder  is 
that  he  has  thus  far,  during  this  extraordinary  religious  interest, 
kept  so  quiet.  Men  of  all  ranks  and  conditions  in  life,  in  great 
numbers,  deserted  his  ranks,  and  we  may  be  sure  he  will  not 


154  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

quietly  submit  to  his  disasters.  He  will  ere  long  rise  in  his  great 
wrath,  knowing  that  his  time  is  short.  He  will  stir  up  wicked 
men  to  do  more  wickedly.  "  The  wise  shall  understands^  but  the 
incorrigibly  wicked  shall  not  understand,  but  be  allowed  to  go  on  to 
their  own  eternal  undoing.  We  shall  see  if  the  great  enemy  of 
all  good  will  allow  his  vassals  to  succumb,  without  a  struggle,  to 
the  new  order  of  things  which  the  Lord,  by  the  late  wonderful 
effusion  of  his  Spirit,  is  now  inaugurating  in  our  land.  In  what 
form  the  reaction  will  come  we  know  not,  but  we  believe  it  will 
come. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Great  Battle — The  slaying  of  the  Witnesses — Their  restoration  and 
ascension  to  Heaven. 

"  And  when  they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony,  the  Beast  that  ascendeth  out 
of  the  bottomless  Pit  shall  make  war  against  them,  and  shall  orercome  them,  and  kill 
them." — Rev.  xi.  7. 

We  have  all  along  kept  in  view  the  idea  of  the  great  conflict 
which  awaits  the  truth  before  its  final  triumph.  It  is  time  that 
we  define  more  definitely  what  we  mean  by  the  Great  Battle  ? 
what  it  shall  be  ?  when  ?  and  where  ?  Its  character  is  perhaps 
no  where  more  accurately  delineated  than  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  the  Revelation,  in  the  account  of  the  "  slaying  of  the  two  Wit- 
nesses." This,  we  believe,  represents  the  great  Battle  of  God 
Almighty,  the  Battle  of  GrOg  and  Magog,  or  of  Armageddon — the 
battle  of  the  great  day.     It  demands  some  special  consideration. 

Who  are  these  witnesses  ?  When  did  they  begin  their  testi- 
mony, and  when  shall  they  end  it?  What  is  meant  by  the  slaying 
of  the  witnesses,  and  when  shall  it  be  ?  What  their  restoration 
and  ascension  to  heaven  ?  These  are  queries  all  of  which  we 
may  not  satisfactorily  answer ;  yet  much  that  is  satisfactory  may 
be  said. 

WTio  are  these  Witnesses  ?  Some  say  they  were  certain  eminent 
(155) 


156  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

individuals,  as  Moses  and  Aaron,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  or  Moses  and 
Elias.  Christ  sent  out  the  twelve,  and  also  the  seventy,  two  and 
two.  I  do  not  suppose  these  were  the  Witnesses.  They  were 
witnesses  for  the  truth,  but  do  not  meet  the  conditions  in  the  case. 
Nothing  less,  I  apprehend,  is  here  meant  than  a  succession  of  holy 
men  and  fearless  prophets  and  teachers,  who,  during  the  period 
in  question,  bear  testimony  to  the  truth,  and  sustain  the  true 
Church.  Such  a  succession  of  men  there  has  always  been  in  the 
world.  These  are  the  two  candlesticks,  with  each  its  seven 
branches  and  lamps,  emblematical  of  the  Church  universal,  as 
the  light-giving  body  to  illuminate  the  surrounding  darkness. 
These  two  candlesticks  are  accompanied  by  two  "  olive  trees, 
which,  by  means  of  conductors,  convey  their  oil  continually  to 
the  lamps."  Hence  the  lamps  of  the  candlesticks  could  never  go 
out. 

Such  is  the  true  Church,  or  the  succession  of  witnesses  for  the 
truth.  Fed  by  an  unction  from  on  high,  they  are  a  bright  and 
shining  light,  that  shineth  brighter  and  brighter  till  the  perfect 
day.  In  whatever  age  or  nation,  they  are  the  light  of  the  world. 
They  have  power  to  prophesy  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  three 
score  days,  or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years. 

A  second  question  arises  as  to  the  commencement  and  termina- 
tion of  this  period  of  time.  The  whole  period  of  their  prophecy 
is  co-eval  with  the  existence  of  '*  the  Beast  that  ascendeth  out  of 
the  bottomless  Pit,"  and  also  with  that  of  the  false  Prophet — two 
events  which  had  their  commencement  and  are  to  have  their  ter- 
mination, nearly  or  quite  at  the  same  time  ;  and  I  may  here  add 
— though  this  is  not  the  time  to  furnish  the  proof — that  the 
restoration  and  conversion  of  the  Jews,  and  the  gathering  in  of 
the  Gentiles  or  Pagan  nations,  are  two  other  exceedingly  impor- 
tant events,  which,  it  seems,  are  to  take  place  at  the  same  time 
with  the  two  above-mentioned. 


THE   PAPAL    BEAST.  157 

The  Papal  Beast  is  generally  said  to  have  arisen  in  the  year 
606.  This  was  when  the  Pope  became  universal  Bishop.  A 
hot  contest  had  for  some  years  previous,  been  carried  on  between 
the  Bishops  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Church ;  the  one,  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  and  the  other,  of  Constantinople.  Boniface, 
then  Bishop  of  Rome,  in  the  year  606,  prevailed  on  the  then  reign- 
ing Emperor,  Phocas,  to  declare  the  Bishop  of  Rome  universal 
Bishop  or  Pope.  Here  separated  forever  the  eastern  and  western 
Churches ;  the  former  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Greek  Church, 
and  the  latter  as  the  Latin,  the  Roman  or  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 

Here  we  have  the  full-grown  Papal  Beast — ^but  as  yet  withoni 
his  horns.  For  it  was  not  till  the  year  756  that  the  Pope  became 
fully  established  as  a  temporal  prince. 

Here  lies  the  difficulty  of  determining  the  precise  time  when  the 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  begun.  If  we  fix  their  date  in 
the  year  606,  they  will  terminate  in  the  year  1866.  This  at  first 
seems  too  short  a  period  into  which  to  crowd  so  many  and  such 
mighty  events  as  must  transpire  before  or  at  the  termination  of 
that  period.  But  when  we  reflect  on  the  wonderful  changes  of 
the  last  few  years,  how  many  and  how  mighty  changes  both 
moral  and  physical  have  taken  place,  and  what  are  now  the  signs 
of  the  times  in  reference  to  a  mighty  onward  progress,  it  need 
not  greatly  stagger  our  faith  to  believe  that  within  this  short  space 
the  gospel  may  be  so  universally  difi\ised  over  the  earth,  and  take 
such  deep  hold  on  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men — change 
laws  and  customs,  that  the  wicked,  no  longer  able  to  brook  the 
restraints  of  piety,  shall  burst  "  the  bonds  and  break  the  cords  " 
of  the  godly,  and  come  out  and  make  war  on  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High  ;  that  they  shall,  to  all  human  appearance,  overcome 
them  and  kill  them;  that  God  shall  then  in  some  remarkable 
manner  avenge  the  cause  of  his  elect — completely  overwhelm  the 


158  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

powers  of  antichrist — the  confederated  hosts  of  Popery,  Moham- 
medanism and  Infidelity,  or  rather  of  a  new  power  made  up  of  all 
that  "  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God 
or  that  is  worshipped ;  that  the  Jews  shall  be  restored  to  the  long- 
lost  favor  of  God,  and  to  their  long-forsaken  and  desolate  land — 
and  that  their  restoration  shall  be  a  glorious  signal,  and,  in  a 
great  measure,  the  means  of  quickening  into  spiritual  life  the 
whole  dead  body  of  the  heathen  world.  And  then  shall  com- 
mence that  glorious  era  of  a  thousand  years  when  peace  shall 
reign  and  righteousness  shall  prosper  and  be  ascendant  throughout 
the  whole  earth. 

It  is  no  more  difficult  to  conceive  that  all  I  have  supposed  will 
take  place  in  the  brief  term  of  six  years,  than  it  was  as  many 
years  that  what  has  transpired,  should  have  taken  place.  Who, 
but  a  few  years  ago,  could  have  conceived  that  the  whole  world 
should  so  soon  be  thrown  open  to  receive  the  gospel — the  Bible 
be  translated,  published,  and  read  in  one  hundred  and  sixty  different 
Pagan  languages — the  Christian  Press,  free  as  the  air  we  breathe, 
be  scattering,  as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  millions  and  millions 
of  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,  until  there  is  scarcely  a  nation,  or 
a  tongue,  or  a  people  that  may  not  already  read  the  wonderful 
things  of  God  in  the  tongue  in  which  they  were  born  ? — And  that 
funds  to  such  an  amount,  and  men  in  such  numbers  should  be  en- 
gaged, and  so  much  land  should  be  possessed  ?  Nor  are  the 
moral,  civil  and  political  changes  which  have  taken  place  less  re- 
markable. 

There  seems,  therefore,  no  reason  for  rejecting  the  idea  that 
the  notable  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  commenced  in  606,  on 
the  ground  that  the  small  space  which  remains  of  it  now,  is  not 
sufficient  for  the  accomplishment  of  all  its  events.  There  is  time 
enough,  and  all  this  too  without  a  miracle.  Indeed,  should  the 
Great  Dagon  at  Rome  fall  prostrate  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord 


CONDITION    OF   THE    WITNESSES.  159 

in  half  six  years,  and  Mohammedanism  explode  with  the  Turkish 
Empire,  and  Pagan  nations  meet  their  hastening  doom,  we  need  not 
be  surprised.  All  things  are  fast  hastening  to  such  results.  Six 
months,  indeed,  might  suffice  to  set  all  the  nations  on  earth  on  fire 
— to  dash  the  nations  one  against  another :  and  another  six  months 
suffice  to  overthrow  the  armies  of  the  aliens — to  clear  away  the 
smoke  of  the  battle-field,  and  to  plant  on  the  ruins  of  the  nations 
that  would  not  serve  the  King  Jehovah,  the  foundations  of  the 
everlasting  kingdom.  A  thousand  years  with  the  Lord  is  as  one 
day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years. 

But  if  we  fix  on  the  other  date,  as  its  commencement,  viz.,  756, 
then  we  add  to  the  unexpired  period  of  the  reign  of  the  Beast 
and  the  prophesying  of  the  witnesses  in  sackcloth  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  making  the  unexpired  time  one  hundred  and  fifty-six 
years  instead  of  six.  The  true  date  is  doubtless  not  sooner  than 
the  first,  nor  later  than  the  second,  but  purposely  left  in  this  ob- 
scurity, because  it  is  not  given  unto  us  to  know  the  "  times  and 
the  seasons." 

Another  thing  that  demands  a  passing  remark  concerning  the 
witnesses,  is  the  condition  in  which  they  appear.  They  are  clothed 
In  "  sackcloth,"  indicative  of  their  humble  condition,  the  contempt 
cast  on  them  by  the  world,  and  their  own  affliction  and  grief 
on  account  of  the  wretched  condition  of  the  world,  and  the  estate 
of  the  Church. 

"  Clothed  in  sackcloth  "  well  represents  the  general  condition 
of  genuine  piety  in  our  world.  In  another  place  the  Church 
is  represented  as  a  "  woman  "  so  tormented  and  persecuted  by  a 
"  great  red  dragon,"  which  had  "  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,"  that 
she  was  compelled  to  flee  away  and  hide  herself  in  the  "  wilder- 
ness " — a  most  apt  illustration  of  what  has  been  the  real  condition 
of  the  true  Church,  or  genuine  Christian  godliness,  ever  since  the 
oorruption  of  the  Church  and  the  origin  of  the  persecuting  powers 


160  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

of  Rome.  Rivers  of  blood  have  flown.  Perhaps  the  ingenuity 
of  man  was  never  more  taxed  than  in  inventing  modes  of  torture 
and  of  death  for  those  whose  only  crime  was  to  worship  God 
agreeable  with  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences-  The  fashion 
of  the  world  has  always  been  to  cast  a  pure  Religion  out,  and  to. 
compel  her  to  seek  the  lodging-place  of  a  wayfaring  man  in  the 
wilderness.  False  or  corrupt  Religions  have  not  unfrequently 
been  called  to  sit  in  high  places,  but  in  no  nation  has  holiness 
been  popular.  It  has  been  tolerated,  but  not  a  passport  to  popular 
favor.     The  witnesses  are  clothed  in  sackcloth. 

A  fourth  characteristic  of  these  witnesses  is,  that  they  are  sus- 
tained hy  a  supernatural  power.  They  stood  before  the  God  of 
the  whole  earth,  and  received  power  from  him.  And  they  are 
protected  by  the  same  omnipotent  arm.  "  If  any  man  hurt  them, 
fire  proceedeth  out  of  their  mouth  and  devoureth  their  enemies." 
God  will  avenge  the  cause  of  his  elect.  By  the  power  of  holiness 
they  shall  be  a  terror  to  evil-doers — one  shall  chase  a  thousand, 
and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 

What  is  meant  hy  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses,  and  when  shall 
this  event  take  place,  and  by  whom  ?  Their  death  is  the  violent 
and  complete  suppression  of  their  testimony.  If  by  the  witnesses 
be  meant  the  succession  of  those  who  profess  and  contend  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  then  the  suppression  of  their 
testimony  must  be  their  death.  The  people  of  God  will  then  be 
prohibited  from  bearing  witness  to  the  truth.  Ministers  may  not 
pr-each ;  Churches  may  not  be  opened ;  Christians  may  not  assem- 
ble for  worship ;  Bibles  may  not  be  published,  circulated  or  know- 
ingly read ;  all  benevolent  societies  will  be  suppressed ;  the  Chris- 
tian Press  prohibited ;  Christian  schools  abandoned  ;  and  all  relig- 
ious instruction  interdicted.  Righteousness  will  be  sent  away 
into  the  waste,  howling  wilderness,  to  sit  solitary  and  to  mourn. 
Wickedness  will  sit  in  high  places  and  triumph  over  downcast 


SLAYING    OP   THE    WITNESSES.  161 

piety.  Every  remaining  vestige  of  piety,  or  the  pious,  shall  be 
treated  with  savage  contempt. 

This  I  understand  to  be  meant  by  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses 
— which  I  gather  from  the  account  given  of  the  transaction  in  the 
following  passage  :  "  And  when  they  shall  have  finished  (or  shall 
be  about  to  finish)  their  testimony,  the  Beast  that  ascendeth  out 
of  the  bottomless  pit,  shall  make  war  against  them,  and  shall  over- 
come them,  and  kill  them.  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  in  the 
street  of  the  great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and 
Egypt,  where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified.  And  they  of  the 
people,  and  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations,  shall  see  their 
dead  bodies  three  days  and  a  half^  and  shall  not  suffer  their  dead 
bodies  to  be  put  in  graves.  And  they  that  dwell  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,  shall  rejoice  over  them,  and  make  merry,  and  shall  send 
gifts  one  to  another,  because  these  two  prophets  tormented  them." 
The  wicked  had  a  long  time  been  held  in  an  unwilling  bondage 
by  the  restraints  of  their  piety,  but  now  they  had  at  length  broken 
away,  and  rejoiced  in  the  hope  of  henceforth  living  as  they  should 
list.  Piety  being,  as  they  supposed,  dead,  they  hoped  they  might 
revel  unmolested  in  the  way  they  should  choose. 

A  query  here  naturally  arises  as  to  the  time  of  this  disaster. 
Is  it  already  past,  or  is  it  yet  to  come  ?  I  have  no  doubt  it  is 
yet  to  come.  Several  past  eras  have  been  fixed  on  as  the  time 
when  the  witnesses  were  slain — as  the  period  when  the  saints  of 
the  valley  of  Piedmont,  the  Vadois,  the  Waldenses,  the  Albigenses, 
etc.,  so  severely  suffered.  These  were  days  of  cruel  persecution. 
Few  could  then  openly  profess  the  Lord  that  bought  them,  without 
sealing  their  testimony  with  their  blood.  There  have  been  times 
of  triumph  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Church  in  France,  Ger- 
many, Bohemia  and  Italy.  But  there  was  in  none  of  these  in- 
stances that  general  suppression  of  the  testimony  of  the  people 
of  God,  nor  that  complete  and  vociferous  and  public  triumph  of 
11 


162  THE  COMING  CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

all  the  enemies  of  godliness,  which  is  here  described.  BuL  what 
is  more  in  point,  none  of  the  mighty  conflicts  of  iniquity  against 
the  Church  of  the  living  God,  occurred  at  the  right  time  to  make 
them  coincide  with  the  event  spoken  of  in  our  text. 

This  dread  overthrow  is  to  take  place  as  the  result  of  the  dying 
struggle  of  the  Papal  Beast.  He  is  then  to  arise  in  his  last  wrath, 
and  to  rage  and  lay  desolate  more  than  ever,  because  "  his  time  is 
short."  This,  of  consequence,  must  fall  at  or  near  the  close  of 
the  above-mentioned  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years — or  at  or 
soon  after  the  year  1866,  as  its  nearest  point  of  termination. 

And,  further,  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses  shall  be  attended  by 
an  open  avowal  and  general  rejection  of  Christianity — and  a  jubilee 
of  triumph  over  its  supposed  final  suppression,  as  if  the  demons 
of  the  Pit  had  broken  loose  to  keep  jubilee  on  earth  over  the 
final  overthrow  of  the  hated  cause.  Such  a  time  seems  yet  to 
come. 

Another  no  less  interesting  inquiry  here  arises :  By  whom  shall 
the  witnesses  he  slain  ?  The  text  replies,  by  the  Beast  that  ascen- 
deth  out  of  the  bottomless  pit;  by  which  has  generally  been  under- 
stood, the  Papacy  or  Romish  Church.  In  all  its  essential  features 
it  no  doubt  is  so.  It  is  the  "  antichrist  that  should  come  " — the 
antichristian,  antireUgious  power  that  should  oppose  itself  to  all 
godliness.  This  does  not  shut  out  the  idea,  but  rather  encourages 
it,  that  it  is  more  of  a  confederacy  of  iniquity  against  every  thing 
which  bears  the  form  of  piety,  than  any  particular  form  that  re- 
ligious persecution  has  yet  assumed.  It  is  not  so  much  Pagan- 
ism, Papacy,  or  Islamism,  as  it  is  a  joint  and  inveterate  and  venge- 
ful hatred  of  the  truth,  which  shall  then  make  one  united,  general 
and  desperate  onset  against  the  Christian  Church.  It  is  the  "  man 
of  sin,"  armed  rather  with  the  panoply  of  infidelity,  than  with  any 
particular  form  of  hostility  to  the  truth  that  has  as  yet  appeared 
in  our  world. 


THE  COMBINED  ATTACK.  163 

It  is  only  analogous  to  what  we  know  to  be  the  subtlety  of  tlie 
Serpent,  to  believe  that  he  may,  and  that  he  often  does  change  his 
mode  of  attack.  He  has  heretofore  come  up  to  the  encounter  by 
Divisions,  each  bearing  its  own  respective  banner,  such  as  Pagan- 
ism, Infidelity,  Popery  and  Mohammedanism.  The  spirit  of  the 
corps  has  always  been  the  same — the  spirit  of  Infidelity.  Tlie 
grand  object  of  attack  has  always  been  the  same — the  kingdom  of 
the  Redeemer.  But  there  has  never  yet  been  a  general  rallying 
of  all  the  forces  towards  a  single  point. 

Such  a  time,  it  seems  to  me,  is  yet  to  come.  The  grand  line  of 
demarcation  shall  at  length  be  drawn.  The  powers  of  light  and 
darkness  shall  then  be  arranged  on  their  own  respective  sides. 
The  neutral  ground  shall  all  be  left  as  a  common  arena.  The 
army  of  the  aliens,  led  on  by  the  arch-spirit  of  darkness,  shall 
embody  in  it  all  that  opposeth  itself  to  the  empire  of  holiness. 
This  is  "  the  man  of  sin."  Its  name  is  "  Legion."  It  embraces 
all  the  antichristian  powers  of  earth,  whether  found  in  the  garb 
of  Christianity,  or  on  the  altar  of  the  Pagan,  or  under  the  banner 
of  the  Crescent.  It  is  one  grand  infidel  confederacy,  roused  from 
its  native  torpor.  Long  had  it  slumbered  in  the  dark  caverns  of 
spiritual  death.  Light  broke  in.  A  ray  penetrated  through  the 
black  folds  of  night  and  came  even  to  the  seat  of  the  Beast.  He 
roused  from  his  lair  as  if  a  star  had  fallen  from  heaven.  Another 
follows  and  another,  till  the  surrounding  darkness  becomes  visible 
— sin  is  unmasked — abominations  unveiled — the  moral  turpitude 
of  ages  exposed — sin  shown  in  its  own  original  and  undisguised 
hatefulness — character  exhibited  as  it  is — virtue  honored  and  vice 
despised — righteousness  exalted  and  sin  trodden  down  ;  and  how 
long,  think  you,  before  the  monster  will  be  roused  and  shake  the 
earth  with  his  roaring  ?  Sin  cannot  bear  the  light.  Darkness  is 
its  native  element.  Light  makes  sin  mad — the  more  light  the 
more  outraoreous  he  is. 


164  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   TKE    WORLD. 

Hence  as  the  gospel  shall  penetrate,  as  it  is  now  fast  doing,  in- 
to Pagan,  Mohammedan  and  Popish  darkness,  the  mystery  of 
iniquity  shall  be  exposed ;  and  when  this  shall  be  done  up  to  a 
certain  point,  "  the  man  of  sin,"  the  universal  genius  of  iniquity, 
shall  arise  in  the  madness  of  his  strength,  rally  the  joint  forces 
of  wickedness,  and,  by  one  mighty,  bloody  onset  seek  to  sweep 
Christianity  from  the  earth.  And  so  successful  shall  they  be  that 
they  shall  seem  to  have  effectually  done  it.  Their  conquest 
appears  to  be  complete.  The  witnesses  are  slain,  and  their  dead 
bodies,  in  contempt  and  savage  triumph,  left  unburied  in  the  streets 
three  days  and  a  half. 

In  other  words,  the  infidel  power  shall  triumph,  Christianity  be 
prostrate — no  one  may  safely  raise  his  voice  in  her  defense- — 
the  Bible  shall  be  proscribed — the  pulpit  closed — the  press  muz- 
zled— missionaries  recalled — religious  instruction  prohibited— 
the  fires  of  persecution  lighted,  and  almost  every  vestige  of  Re- 
ligion destroyed.     Yet  the  good  seed  shall  still  remain. 

If  it  be  asked,  then,  if  this  shall  be  a  conflict  with  carnal  weapons 
— a  conflict  of  flesh  and  blood  ?  I  can  only  answer  that  I  see  not 
why,  in  one  of  its  aspects,  it  will  not  be.  There  is  in  the  different 
descriptions  we  have  of  the  great  battle  every  appearance  of  it. 
There  seems  good  reason  to  suppose  it  will  be  a  mighty  and  bloody 
conflict  between  Christian  and  antichristian  nations.  But  not 
solely  nor  principally  this ;  it  will  be  a  mighty  moral  conflict. 
The  united  powers  of  darkness  will  be  roused  against  the  children 
of  light,  and  shall  "  overcome  and  kill  them."  A  Religious  pro- 
fession may  yet  cost  as  much  as  it  ever  did  in  the  darkest,  crudest 
days  of  the  Inquisition.  And  there  may  be  those  that  now  read 
this,  who  shall  not  taste  of  death  till  all  these  things  shall  be  ful- 
filled.    Therefore  be  ye  ready. 

Do  you  ask  why  1  suppose  the  "  Beast "  here  spoken  of,  who 
shall  overcome  and  kill  the  witnesses,  to  be  an  infidel  confederacy, 


WHY   THE    GOSPEL    SHOULD    BE    PREACHED.  165 

made  up  of  all  the  haters  of  godliness,  rather  than  simply  the 
Papal  Beast  ?  I  reply,  that  this  better  agrees  with  the  character 
given  of  this  power  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  his  second  epistle  to 
the  Thessalonians,  than  the  papacy  does.  Though  the  papists 
have  to  a  shocking  extent  been  concealed  and  real  infidels,  yet,  in 
theory  and  profession,  they  are  as  orthodox  as  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, or  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Is  it  asked  again,  why  preach  the  gospel  to  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  if  there  is  soon  to  be  so  complete  an  overthrow,  and  all 
seemingly  to  be  cast  to  the  four  winds  ?  I  answer :  The  gospel 
is  the  very  thing  which  shall  bring  about  the  mighty,  and,  to  the 
enemies  of  God,  the  awful  revolution  of  which  I  am  speaking. 
It  is  the  diffusion  of  the  truth  which  shall  rouse  the  latent  energies 
of  the  opponents  of  all  righteousness,  and  bring  on  the  last  great 
day  of  conflict.  We  might  as  well  object  to,  or  at  least  call  in 
question,  the  utility  of  a  preached  gospel,  or  of  any  religious  in- 
struction, on  the  ground  that  it  will  rouse  the  slumbering  energies 
of  the  foe  and  be  followed  by  some  disagreeable  conflict. 

What  I  mean  may  be  illustrated  as  follows :  Yonder  is  a 
province  of  Idolaters.  The  quiet  of  spiritual  death  reigns  there. 
Sin  riots  and  revels  there,  w^ith  none  to  molest  or  make  afiaid. 
Darkness  covers  that  land,  and  a  gross  darkness  the  people.  At 
length  a  messenger  of  truth  arrives  there.  He  plants  and  unfurls 
his  banner  for  the  first  time  on  this  unpropitious  soil,  A  conflict 
now  begins.  It  is  the  conflict  of  truth  with  error — of  holiness 
with  sin.  Truth  is  the  aggressor.  Many  seeing  the  righteousness 
and  purity  of  its  cause,  range  themselves  under  its  banners.  Its 
progress  at  first  is  slow  and  so  gradual  as  to  excite  no  alarm.  The 
means  seem  so  inadequate  to  its  professed  end  that  it  excites  rather 
ridicule  than  serious  apprehension.  But  the  Bible  works  its  way 
— leveling  all  opposition — exalting  valleys,  and  making  low 
mountains.     It  changes  manners,  customs,  and  laws.     It  attacks 


166  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE   WORLD. 

and  brings  to  the  ground  their  strongholds.  It  prostrates  princi- 
paUties  and  powers.  It  erects  a  new  empire ;  and  all  this  by  such 
apparently  insignificant  means  as  a  preached  gospel — education 
and  the  Press. 

The  alarm  is  now  taken.  Individual  opposition  at  first  appears. 
It  becomes  more  and  more  consolidated  and  general,  until  a  com- 
plete confederacy  is  organized,  and  there  is  a  simultaneous  rising 
up  to  crush  the  new  Religion.  So  irritated  have  the  opposing 
party  now  become — so  sorely  do  they  feel  themselves  restrained 
in  their  rights,  that  they  are  prepared  to  engage  in  a  war  of  ex- 
termination. Nothing  but  the  eradicating  of  the  offensive  party, 
root  and  branch,  will  now  serve  their  purpose.  They  rise  in  their 
might  and  rage,  and  do  the  bloody  deed.  But  they  have  forgot- 
ten that  the  blood  of  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church. 

All  now  appears  "  dead,"  and  they  rejoice  and  send  gifts  and 
congratulations  one  to  another.  But  the  progress  of  the  good 
cause,  so  far  from  its  being  finally  arrested  and  all  that  has  been 
done  being  lost,  is  scarcely  impeded.  A  desolating  tornado  has 
passed  over  and  laid  all  prostrate ;  but  this  is  but  the  presage  of 
a  reanimation  more  stable  and  glorious  than  ever. 

6.   The  restoration,  or  resurrection  of  the  witnesses. 

"And  after  three  days  and  a  half  the  Spirit  of  life  from  God 
entered  into  them  and  they  stood  upon  their  feet ;  and  great  fear 
fell  upon  them  which  saw  them."  After  this  short  suspension 
(three  and  a  half  years,  according  to  prophetic  language)  and  this 
overthrow  of  the  witnesses,  God  will  avenge  the  cause  of  his  elect 
— He  will  vindicate  his  own  cause  and  exalt  it  far  above  all  that  it 
has  ever  yet  known.  It  shall  be  as  life  from,  the  dead.  And  in 
so  extraordinary  manner  shall  it  be  effected  as  to  confound  and  to 
fill  with  consternation  all  those  mighty,  vaunting  hosts  that  were 
so  recently  congratulating  themselves  and  one  the  other  over  the 
final  overthrow  of  a  hated  Religion.     What  a  contrast !  one  day 


RESURRECTION    OP   THE    WITNESSES.  167 

they  were  indulging  in  excessive  and  open  mirth  over  a  prostrate 
foe ;  the  next  day  they  are  in  their  turn  laid  low  and  overwhelmed 
beyond  the  hope  of  recovery,  and  those  they  hated  are  again  aUve 
— their  strength  renewed,  and  they  shielded  by  the  arm  of  Omnip- 
otence.    And  more  yet ;  for, 

7.  They  shall  ascend  into  heaven,  '*  And  they  heard  a  great 
voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  them.  Come  up  hither.  And 
they  ascended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud ;  and  their  enemies  beheld 
them."  This,  like  most  of  the  chapter,  is  figurative  language. 
The  slaying  of  the  witnesses,  as  I  have  explained  it,  means  the 
suppression  of  all  efforts  for  the  instruction  and  extension  of  the 
Church ;  their  restoration  the  re-establishment  of  all  such  efforts 
under  far  more  favorable  auspices  than  ever.  Their  ascension  to 
heaven  must  consequently  mean  that  God  now,  in  a  special  man- 
ner, approves  and  accepts  them.  Before,  they  had  been  clothed 
in  sackcloth — dwelt  in  the  wilderness — ^been  forsaken,  cast  down, 
afficted  and  tormented.  They  had  eaten  the  bread  of  affliction 
and  drunk  the  waters  of  affliction.  But  now  had  the  Beloved 
appeared  and  lifted  up  their  heads,  and  put  a  crown  upon  them, 
and  set  them  in  a  high  place,  and  made  them  kings  and  priests,  and 
put  their  enemies  under  their  feet,  and  put  a  new  song  in  their 
mouths — even  praise  to  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne. 

Such  shall  be  the  great  reaction  of  that  wonderful  drama.  The 
saints  who  so  little  time  ago  were  dethroned,  and  cast  down  and 
dispossessed  of  the  earth,  are  now  suddenly  invested  in  more  than 
all  their  former  dignities  and  exalted,  as  it  were,  to  heaven  in  the 
sight  of  their  enemies.  "  They  ascended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud ; 
and  their  enemies  beheld  them."  "And  the  same  hour  was 
there  a  great  earthquake,  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell,  and 
in  the  earthquake  were  slain  of  men  seven  thousand  [a  definite 
for  indefinite  number] ;  and  the  remnant  were  affrighted,  and  gave 
glory  to  the  God  of  heaven." 


168  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Now  follows  a  great  slaughter  of  the  foes  of  the  Church.  Mul- 
titudes fall  by  the  sword ;  multitudes  are  swallowed  up  by  the 
judgments  of  heaven  as  by  a  mighty  earthquake ;  and  many  be- 
holding the  arm  of  the  Lord  made  bare  over  his  enemies,  are 
affrighted,  turn  away  from  their  rebellion,  are  converted  and  give 
"  glory  to  the  God  of  heaven." 

The  saints  of  the  Most  High  now  have  the  kingdom.  Anti- 
christ is  put  down ;  and  it  is  proclaimed,  "  The  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ : 
and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever."  This  is  the  Millennial  Morn 
— this  the  day  when  God  shall  lift  up  the  heads  of  his  people — 
when  the  New  Jerusalem,  come  down  from  heaven  as  a  bride 
prepared  for  the  bridegroom,  shall  shine  forth  in  her  beautiful 
attire  as  the  glory  of  this  lower  world. 

The  view  we  have  taken  of  the  Witnesses — who  they  are  and 
what  they  signify — we  believe  to  be  abundantly  confirmed  in  the 
prophetic  descriptions  of  these  events  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  But  we  must  defer  the  consideration  of  these 
for  the  present.  In  the  mean  time  we  may  indulge  in  two  reflec- 
tions : 

1.  What  a  pleasing  confidence  the  saint  may  indulge  in  his 
God. 

2.  What  confusion  and  disappointment  shall  finally  over- 
whelm the  wicked.  "  Hand  joined  in  hand "  they  thought  to 
prosper.  They  made  themselves  strong  in  sin,  they  boasted  of 
their  iniquity,  and  "  because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  was 
not  executed  speedily,  their  hearts  were  fully  set  in  them  to  do 
evil."  They  thought  themselves  strong  and  began  to  afilict  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High.  Then  he  confounded  and  overthrew 
them,  and  none  could  deliver  out  of  his  hand.  To  the  wicked 
God  is  a  consuming  fire. 

What  madness  then  to  live  at  enmity  with  God !     "  Fear  not 


LIVE    NOT    AT    ENMITY    WITH    GOD.  169 

them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can 
do.  But  I  will  forewarn  you  whom  ye  shall  fear :  fear  him  who, 
after  he  hath  killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell :  yea,  I  say  mito 
you,  fear  him." 

May  we  all  be  faithful  witnesses  for  the  truth,  that  our  mi- 
worthy  names  may  be  found  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  year  1868 — The  financial  crisis  and  the  Great  Awakening. 

Since  writing  the  preceding  chapter  God  has  done  great  things 
for  his  people.  A  previously  mentioned  sign  of  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  Man  is  signally  verified.  The  year  (1858)  has  been  re- 
markably distinguished  as  the  year  of  the  right-hand  of  the  Lord 
and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God.  It  has  been  signalized  by 
one  of  the  most  powerful  revivals  of  religion  ever  known  in  the 
Christian  Church :  in  power  another  Pentecost ;  in  extent  and  con- 
tinuance, more  than  a  Pentecost.  And  this  delightful  event  was 
heralded  by  a  convulsion  which  shook  terribly  the  earth.  The 
FINANCIAL  CRISIS  burst  on  the  commercial  world  like  a  tornado, 
threatening  for  a  time  to  demolish  the  strongholds  of  Mammon. 
In  one  short  year  both  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  shaken 
that  "  those  things  which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain." 

The  year  has,  in  like  manner,  been  signalized,  in  another  part 
of  the  world,  by  one  of  those  virulent  outbursts  of  Idolatry  and 
barbarism  against  civihzation  and  Christianity  which  ever  and 
anon  convulse  the  nations.  And  again  was  the  year  signahzed 
by  an  unwonted  triumph  of  human  skill  and  power  in  the  success- 
ful laying  of  the  Ocean  Telegraph.     Nor  would  we  overlook  the 

(170) 


THE    FINANCIAL    CRISIS.  171 

pleasant  fact  that  the  first  intelligence  conveyed  through  the  sub- 
merged wires,  was  a  message  of  peace,  a  proclamation  of  the  next 
event  of  the  year,  announcing  that  the  great  Empire  of  China 
no  longer  stands  aloof  in  proud  isolation,  from  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  but  has  become  as  one  of  us ;  throwing  open  her  wide 
domains  to  the  religion  of  Calvary,  and  inviting  its  embassadors 
to  unfurl  there  the  banners  of  the  cross. 

The  four  events  alluded  to,  together  with  the  opening  of  Japan 
by  commercial  treaty,  and  Africa  by  late  explorations,  are  espec- 
ially characteristic  of  the  last  year.  The  year  1858  was  the 
year  of  the  right-hand  of  the  Lord.  Morally,  physically,  politi- 
cally, it  was  a  great  year :  and  its  events  are  no  doubt  in  some 
special  sense  preliminary  to,  and  the  precursors  of,  that  great  day 
of  the  Lord  whose  speedy  coming  they  herald.  They  are  signs 
of  the  times,  and  it  becomes  us  to  note  them  as  such.  They  pro- 
claim the  approach  of  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  and  of 
the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God. 

A  brief  review  of  these  events  will  abundantly  confirm  such  an 
opinion. 

I.  The  financial  crisis  and  the  Great  Awakening.  We 
join  these  together  because  we  believe  that  in  the  mind  of  God 
there  is  such  a  connection.  Such  a  concussion  in  the  commercial 
world  had  perhaps  never  been  known  before.  It  was  a  thunder- 
bolt. It  was  the  earthquake,  the  fire  and  the  storm,  which  made 
men  stand  aghast,  and  wonder  amidst  the  wreck  of  their  earthly 
hopes,  and  bade  them  give  heed  to  the  "  still  small  voice  "  which 
was  about  to  speak.  Engrossedness  in  things  seen  and  temporal 
had  become  our  besetting  sin.  We  had  gone  wild  after  Mammon, 
and  needed  to  be  taught  the  instability  of  all  earthly  good.  And 
in  a  moment  when  least  suspected  the  clouds  gathered  and  the 
dtorm  burst  upon  us.  The  whole  commercial  world  was  thrown 
into  convulsions.    Princely  fortunes  were  in  a  moment  scattered  to 


172  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

the  winds;  business  relations  and  prospects  which  had  been 
regarded  firm  and  hopeful,  were  ruthlessly  invaded — stability  in 
all  earthly  good  became  as  the  "baseless  fabric  of  a  dream." 
Never  did  Providence  administer  a  more  unexpected  and  scath- 
ing rebuke  to  all  who  were  "  hastening  to  be  rich ; "  never  were 
nil  classes  of  men,  the  employed  as  well  as  the  employers,  the 
poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  made  to  feel  the  uncertainty  of  all  hu- 
man affairs.  And  from  the  ruins  of  their  earthly  treasures  and 
the  wreck  of  their  earthly  hopes  they  seemed  to  hear  that  "  still 
small  voice"  say,  "  Set  not  your  affections  on  things  on  the  earth." 
And  men  listened  to  this  voice.  Business  men  betook  them- 
selves to  the  place  of  prayer,  and  sought  the  durable  riches.  The 
work  begun  in  our  great  emporium  of  trade  where  the  finan- 
cial convulsion  was  felt  most  severely ;  and  thence  has  extended 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land. 

The  great  commercial  revulsion  of  the  closing  months  of  1857, 
doubtless  had  much  to  do  in  preparing  men's  minds  for  the  gracious 
visitation  of  1858  ;  a  year  ever  to  be  remembered  as  the  "  accepta- 
ble year  of  the  Lord."  Never  before  did  the  windows  of  heaven 
open  so  widely,  and  so  rich  a  rain  of  righteousness  descend. 

For  back  of  all  these  thunder-tones  of  rebuke,  God  had  been 
preparing  those  quiet,  invisible  influences  which  were  about  to 
sway  the  mind,  well  nigh,  of  a  nation,  and  perhaps  set  in  motion 
a  wave  of  influence  which  shall  not  lose  its  power  till  it  shall 
have  rolled  over  all  the  nations  of  Christendom. 

II.  It  is  more  especially  the  design  of  the  present  chapter  to 
contemplate  the  Great  Awakening  of  1858  as  one  of  those 
remarkable  outpourings  of  the  Spirit  so  often  predicted  by  the 
ancient  Seers,  which  shall  precede  that  "  great  and  notable  day 
of  the  Lord  " — when  the  Lord  shall  come  to  gather  into  his  fold 
an  innumerable  multitude  to  commence  his  Millennial  reign  on 
the  earth ;  and  when  he  shall   come  in  his  signal  judgments  to 


PROMISE    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  173 

take  vengeance  on  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel.  The  present 
extraordinary  work  of  grace  seems  a  reahzation  of  the  many 
precious  promises  of  a  special  divine  influence  on  the  Church  in 
the  "  last  times,"  and  a  delightful  presage  of  the  commg  of  the 
Son  of  man  to  reap  the  harvest  of  the  earth  and  reign  in  right- 
eousness among  the  children  of  men. 

God  has  promised  that  he  will  in  the  last  days  pour  out  his 
Spirit  in  rich  profusion — that  he  will  fulfil  his  promises  and  con- 
summate his  purposes — that  good  times  await  the  Church  of  the 
living  God.  This  sin-smitten  earth  shall  yet  rejoice  in  the  sun- 
shine of  the  divine  favor.  That  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophet  Joel,  and  had  its  first  and  partial  fulfilment  at  that  Pen- 
tecostal season  when  a  few  thousand  were  converted  under  the 
preaching  of  Peter,  shall  have  a  final,  universal,  a  far  more  glo- 
rious fulfilment  in  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the  widely 
extended  tribes  of  the  present  Israel,  and  in  the  great  turning  to 
the  Lord  which  shall  follow. 

The  Christian  dispensation  was  to  be  a  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit.  Christ  must  go  away  that  the  the  Spirit  might  come.  He 
had  finished  the  great  work  of  expiation — ^the  framework  of 
salvation — the  body  had  been  made  ready,  and  now  it  only  re- 
mained that  it  should  be  quickened  by  the  inbreathing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  If  Christ  went  not  away  the  Quickener  might  not  come. 
The  outgushing  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  was  his  advent — the 
inauguration  of  the  glorious  part  he  was  destined  to  act  in  the 
new  order  of  things  under  Christ.  The  wonders  then  wrought 
were  the  earnest,  the  first  fruits  of  the  rich  harvest  which  should 
distinguish  the  new  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer,  but  more  espec- 
ially should  mark  the  closing  period.  The  Pentecost  was  a  spec- 
imen, not  so  much  of  what  should  immediately  follow,  as  of  the 
power  and  blessedness  of  Immanuel's  reign  in  the  last  days,  when 
the  King  shall  gird  himself  and  ride  forth  to  the  conquest  of  the 


174  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

world.  When  he  shall  come  to  make  a  short  work  on  the  earth, 
then  shall  the  Spirit  be  revealed  in  his  great  power  and  glory. 
That  which  appeared  as  a  glimpse  at  the  Pentecost — an  excep- 
tion and  glorious  manifestation  compared  with  any  thing  that  had 
gone  before,  shall,  in  the  appointed  time,  become  the  rule  and . 
order  of  the  Spirit's  operations.  Only  believe  and  you  shall  see 
yet  greater  things — greater  wonders  of  mercy,  greater  miracles 
of  grace,  more  extraordmary  manifestations  of  the  divine  power 
in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  more  wonderful  answers  to  prayer. 
The  wonders  of  Pentecost  shall  be  outdone — if  not  in  the  power 
of  the  Spirit's  working,  yet  in  the  extent,  and  the  longer  continu- 
ance of  his  blessed  influences,  and  the  greater  numbers  brought 
under  his  converting  and  sanctifying  power. 

Peter,  in  the  words  of  the  prophet  Joel,  speaks  of  an  order  of 
things  which  should  begin  at  that  Pentecost,  but  should  be  con- 
summated in  the  last  days.  For  her  encouragement  the  Cliristian 
Church  was  thus,  at  the  very  outset,  allowed  to  witness  at  least  a 
transient  display  of  the  mighty  power  which  should  thenceforth  be 
engaged  in  her  behalf.  This  was  heaven's  pledge,  gloriously  to 
be  redeemed  in  the  "  last  times." 

Our  faith  in  the  coming  of  the  latter-day  glory  is  well  founded. 
It  has  its  pledge.  All  we  need  is  the  repetition  and  the  continu- 
ance of  the  power  of  that  day.  And  we  seem  to  see  that  pledge 
about  to  be  redeemed.  The  Lord  is  making  bare  his  arm — the 
sacramental  host  is  being  endued  with  power  for  the  work  because 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  them,  and  why  should  we  not  ex- 
pect the  scenes  of  a  perpetual  Pentecost  ?  May  we  not  regard 
the  present  great  religious  movement  as  the  beginning  of  such  a 
season  ? 

The  Pentecost  was  an  occasion  of  thanksgiving  for  the  first 
fruits  of  the  harvest — the  partial  ingathering  and  pledge  of  the 
full  harvest.     May  we  not  in  like  manner  regard  what  our  eyes 


PRATER-MEETINGS    DOING    THEIR    WORK.  175 

now  see  as  the  first  fruits  of  a  glorious  spiritual  ingathering, 
tokens  of  the  full  and  final  ingathering  of  souls  into  the  garner 
of  our  God  ;  when  we  shall  go  up  from  year  to  year  to  worship 
the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  to  keep  the  feast  of  Taber- 
nacles ! 

It  is  the  relation  which  we  believe  the  work  in  question  holds 
to  the  coming  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer  which  clothes  it  with  the 
profoundest  interest.  Let  us,  therefore,  advert  to  some  of  the 
characteristics,  circumstances  and  results  of  this  work,  as  confir- 
matory of  what  I  have  intimated — identifying  it  with  what  we 
have  been  wont  to  look  forward  to  as  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy 
and  the  precursor  of  the  Millennium. 

1 .  The  work  has  been  characterized  hy  extrax)rdinary  influences 
of  the  Spirit.  In  this  respect  it  has  been  truly  a  Pentecostal 
season.  The  word  preached  has  been  with  power,  because  made 
efficacious  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  reading  of  the  word,  ex- 
hortation, religious  conversation,  the  social  prayer-meetings,  the 
ordinances  of  the  Church,  and  all  the  various  means  of  grace, 
have  all  seemed  to  possess  unwonted  power.  Thousands  who 
have  come  to  the  religious  meetings  to  scoff  have  gone  away  to 
pray.  Strangely  is  the  truth  brought  to  bear  on  all  classes  of 
men  and  under  all  circumstances.  A  gentleman  on  his  way  to 
the  noon  prayer-meeting,  passing  through  Washington  Market, 
meets  a  young  man  who  tells  him  the  good  work  has  reached 
that  great  and  busy  mart  of  trade.  The  young  man,  taking 
from  his  pocket  a  list  of  names,  says,  "  There  is  a  list  whom  we 
have  been  praying  for  in  different  praying  circles.  I  have  carried 
them  to  the  meetings  for  prayer — we  have  prayed  for  them  one 
by  one,  and  now  all  on  this  list  are  converted."  Presenting 
another  list,  he  said,  "  Here  I  have  another  list  of  nine.  We  are 
now  praying  for  these ;  and  we  pray  for  them  one  by  one ;  and 
we  follow  them  up,  not  only  with  our  prayers,  but  with  personal 


176  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

conversation,  entreating  them  to  become  reconciled  to  God." 
"  Learning,"  says  the  gentleman,  "  that  I  was  going  to  the  Fulton 
Street  Prayer-Meeting,  he  begged  me  to  ask  you  to  remember 
these  nine  young  men  in  your  prayers,  and  ask  for  their  im- 
mediate conversion." 

The  good  work  was  as  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man,  without 
observation.  It  was  heralded  by  no  prophetic  tokens  of  coming 
good.  It  began,  seemingly,  "  without  human  contrivances,  and 
when  no  one  seemed  to  be  expecting  it,"  and  so  effectually  has  a 
lay  agency  been  in  the  work  as  quite  to  refute  the  evils  of 
wicked  and  unreasonable  men,  who  fain  would  attribute  such  a 
work  to  the  cunning  craftiness  of  priests. 

From  the  market  you  may  pass  to  the  pier,  to  the  busiest 
haunts  of  trade — to  the  counting-room  or  the  hotel,  and  you  are 
surprised  that  this  same  blessed  agent,  whose  office  it  is  to  con- 
vince of  sin  and  to  quicken  into  a  new  spiritual  life,  has  been 
there  before  you  ;  and  there  remain  the  evident  memorials  of  his 
blessed  workings.  And  so  you  will  find  it  if  you  repair  to  our 
watering-places  and  fashionable  places  of  summer  resort.  It  is 
not  all  fashion,  not  all  worldly  pleasure  there  now.  The  Bible, 
the  Sabbath,  the  Daily  Prayer-Meeting  have  been  admitted,  yea, 
welcomed,  because  the  Spirit  has  been  poured  out  from  on  high, 
and  another  spirit  pervaded  the  hearts  of  many  who  the  present 
season  resorted  thither  for  the  healing  of  their  mortal  maladies, 
or  the  recruiting  of  their  wasted  energies.  Now  they  drew 
waters  from  the  wells  of  salvation  to  heal  the  moral  maladies  of 
the  soul. 

Or  you  might  go  to  the  fashionable  restaurant,  or  even  to  the 
beer  saloon,  and  you  are  not  altogether  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
Spirit's  influences.  A  gentleman  is  dining  in  a  restaurant.  A 
conversation  occurs  with  the  waiter  which  leads  the  gentleman 
to  inquire  if  he  wished  a  copy  of  the  Bible.     He  said  he  did. 


THE   POWER    OF    GOD's    SPIRIT.  177 

"  Do  you  ever  attend  the  noonday  prayer-meeting  ?  "  "  No,"  said 
the  waiter ;  "  we  are  obliged  to  be  here  at  our  business  all  day  and 
till  ten  o'clock  at  night.  But  we  then  have  a  prayer-meeting  in 
the  house  among  ourselves."  Who  would  expect  to  meet,  among 
the  busy,  bustling  herd  at  a  large  eating-house,  a  company  of  young 
men  who  retire  at  that  late  hour  to  pour  out  their  supplications 
and  plead  their  wants  at  the  throne  of  grace  ?  Surely  God  is 
there  and  we  knew  it  not.  His  gracious  visitations  seem,  as  never 
before,  to  be  blessing  every  department  of  human  life. 

But  there  is  related  an  incident  yet  more  marvellous,  and  illus- 
trating yet  more  impressively  the  all-pervading  power  of  God's 
blessed  spirit.  A  thoughtless  young  man  goes  into  a  beer  sa- 
loon ;  such  a  one  as  the  wretched  young  Gouldy  left,  and  went 
directly  home  to  make  his  father's  house  the  scene  of  his  shock- 
ing murders  and  his  own  suicide.  The  young  man  while  par- 
taking of  his  refreshments,  heard  a  company  in  an  adjoining 
apartment,  separated  only  by  a  curtain,  discussing  the  Gouldy 
tragedy,  and  alluding,  in  connection  with  it,  to  the  Fulton  Street 
Prayer-Meeting.  Some  at  first  laughed  at  the  idea  of  a  prayer- 
meeting  having  any  claims  on  them*  Others  said  it  was  not  a 
thing  to  be  laughed  at ;  "  There  is  something  in  it,  and  we  will  go 
and  see."  The  young  man  who  listened,  responded,  "  There  may 
be  something  in  it,  and  I  will  go  and  see  too."  He  was  deeply 
impressed  that  he  had  immortal  interests  at  stake.  As  you  entered 
that  saloon  you  thought  it  a  godless  place.  But  God  was  there. 
The  invisible  agent  was  at  work,  and  you  knew  it  not.  May 
his  blessed  influences  soon  become  so  universal  and  all-pervading 
that  the  sinner  shall  say,  "  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ? 
Whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?  " 

Meetings  for  prayer  have  been  singularly  marked  by  evidences 
of  the  Spirit's  presence.  "  One  cannot  be  in  one  of  these  prayer- 
meetings  more  than  a  few  minutes,  without  feeling  it  is  holy 
12 


178  THE  COMING  CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

ground,  because  the  Holy  Spirit  is  present  in  his  silent  but  amaz- 
ing power."  And  we  are  made  conscious  of  the  blessed  influence 
as  we  listen  to  the  different  requests  for  prayer.  We  feel,  as 
never  before,  that  there  is  a  deep  and  tender  solicitude  felt  for 
the  undying  spirit  of  man. 

2.  Another  delightful  characteristic  of  the  work  in  question 
which  seems  to  identify  it  with  the  predicted  reign  of  righteous- 
ness, is  the  unwonted  spirit  of  prayer  which  pervades  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  It  was  the  prevalence  of  the  spirit  of  prayer  that 
preceded  the  wonderful  season  of  Pentecost — rather,  it  was  this 
which  brought  down  the  blessings  of  that  day.  The  disciples 
were  commanded  to  wait  in  Jerusalem  for  the  "  promise  of  the 
Father,"  which  was  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  did 
they  wait  idly  ?  No ;  "  all  these  continued  with  one  accord  in 
prayer  and  supplication,  with  the  women."  With  united  heart 
and  voice  they  called  mightily  on  God  for  the  promised  blessing, 
the  outpoui-ing  of  the  Spirit.  And  the  blessing  came  in  over- 
whelming power — as  "  a  mighty  rushing  wind." 

But  was  there  any  thing  in  the  character  and  the  results  of 
that  Pentecostal  occasion,  which  might  not,  and  ought  not,  to  be 
realized  in  the  whole  history  of  the  Christian  Church  ?  It  is  a 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  There  is  no  restraint  with  the  Spirit 
— no  restraint  with  the  Father  in  giving  the  Spirit.  He  giveth 
not  his  Spirit  hy  measure.  A  stronger  assurance  of  God's  read- 
iness to  give  his  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  cannot  be  given ;  he  is 
more  ready  to  give  his  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him,  than  earthly 
parents  are  to  give  good  gifts  to  their  children.  And  whenever 
the  same  spirit  of  prayer  prevails,  are  we  not  authorized  to  ex- 
pect the  same  results  ? 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  readiness  with  which  men  of  all 
classes  come  together  to  pray — not  excepting  men  of  business — 
those  the  most  burdened  with  life's  cares  and  toils ;  and  to  busi- 


READINESS  OF  GOD  TO  HEAR  PRAYER.        179 

ness  men,  the  untimely  hours  at  which  they  assemble,  and  the  fre- 
quency and  fervency  with  which  they  pray,  we  are  constrained 
to  conclude  that  the  present  era  of  the  Church  is  marked  by  an 
unusual  spirit  of  prayer.  Perhaps  no  age  since  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost has  been,  in  this  respect,  so  signalized  and  blessed.  And  is 
not  this  the  very  tiling  which,  guided  by  prophetic  vision,  we  have 
reason  to  expect  as  preliminary  and  introductory  to  a  yet  greater 
ingathering  to  the  fold  of  the  great  Shepherd  ?  And  are  we  not 
authorized  to  expect  yet  richer  effusions  of  the  Spirit,  and  yet 
more  wonderful  demonstrations  of  his  power  in  the  conversion 
of  yet  greater  multitudes  to  God  ? 

One  of  the  rich  promises  which  remains  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
"  last  times,"  is :  "  I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace  and  of  suppli- 
cation.*' The  Church  of  the  living  God  shall  become  priests — 
intercessors  before  the  mercy-seat,  for  a  world  that  lies  in  ruins. 
They  shall  appreciate  as  never  before  the  priceless  value  of  the 
immortal  soul,  and  lift  up  their  hearts  in  agonizing  prayer  for  their 
salvation.  As  we  shall  more  and  more  witness  abroad  over  the 
face  of  Zion,  such  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication,  we  may 
know  that  Zion's  redemption  draws  nigh. 

3.  The  present  work  of  grace  is  no  less  signalized  by  the  read- 
iness of  God  to  hear  prayer.  This  identifies  the  present  religious 
interest  with  the  great  turning  to  the  Lord  before  the  great  and 
notable  day.  A  striking  characteristic  of  that  period  is  to  be, 
that  "  whosoever  calleth  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.*^ 
How  delightfully,  in  the  history  of  God's  grace,  do  the  multitude 
of  extraordinary  answers  to  prayer  which  have  been  recorded 
the  last  year,  verify  this  declaration.  I  will  cite  a  few — which 
are  as  only  one  in  a  thousand — and  these  perhaps  not  the  most 
striking : 

The  son  of  a  faithful  minister  in  New  England  had  fallen  into 


180  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

evil  ways — given  his  parents  much  solicitude — and  had  gone  to 
the  West  to  study  law.  A  Revival  commenced  in  his  native 
town.  A  friend  proposed  in  one  of  their  meetings  that  they 
still  pray  for  their  pastor's  son.  Earnest  and  repeated  prayer 
was  offered.  The  first  letter  his  father  received,  announced  him 
greatly  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  Soon  he  returned 
home  a  new  man.  There  was  joy  over  him  that  was  lost  and  is 
found.  He  returned  to  the  west ;  has  changed  the  course  of  his 
studies,  and  is  determined  to  give  himself  to  the  work  of  the  gos- 
pel ministry. 

A  stranger  from  City  Island,  a  town  of  400  inhabitants  and 
only  twenty  professors  of  religion,  appears  in  the  Fulton  Street 
Prayer-Meeting,  and  asks  prayers  for  his  native  town.  Prayers 
are  offered ;  and  in  due  time  he  returns  home :  when  to  his  great 
astonishment  he  is  saluted  with  the  inquiry,  "When  are  you  go- 
ing to  come  out  on  the  Lord's  side  ?  we  have  been  praying  for 
you  ever  since  you  have  been  gone."  "  It  went  like  a  dagger  to 
my  heart.  How  strange  !  while  I  was  here  asking  you  to  pray 
for  them,  they  should  be  praying  for  me.  The  Lord  has  turned 
my  sorrow  into  joy."  He  stands  a  witness  for  the  truth  amidst  a 
goodly  number  of  his  fellow-townsmen  into  whose  mouths  the 
Lord  hath  recently  put  the  new  song. 

In  a  prayer-meeting  in  Philadelphia,  prayer  is  requested  for 
the  conversion  of  a  son  of  an  aged  clergyman.  A  pastor,  well 
stricken  in  years,  who  had  long  been  praying  that  his  own  prodi- 
gal son  might  be  arrested,  rose  and  made  earnest  supplication  "  for 
this  son  of  an  aged  clergyman."  His  own  son,  out  of  mere  cu- 
riosity, had  entered  the  room  unknown  to  his  father,  and  sat  at 
some  distance  from  him.  There  he  heard  his  father  praying  for 
just  such  a  son  and  just  such  a  sinner  as  himself.  He  left  the 
meeting  in  great  distress — could  not  sleep,  but  walked  the  streets 
the  whole  night.     In  the  morning  he  returned  as  a  prodigal  to 


CONVERSION    OF   A    SEA-CAPTAIN.  181 

his  father's  house — humbled  before  God,  and  ready  to  enhst  in 
the  service  of  Him  who  suffered  on  the  cross  for  sinners.  He  is 
now  daily  at  the  prayer-meeting,  and  not  without  a  word  of 
warning  to  all  who  are  out  of  Christ. 

A  profane,  intemperate  and  generally  irreligious  sea-captain 
becomes  the  object  of  the  intense  interest  and  fervent  prayers  of 
his  wife.  She  leaves  nothing  unsaid  or  undone  to  impress  him 
with  the  importance  of  seeking  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  He 
goes  to  sea,  setting  all  these  things  at  defiance.  She  now  re- 
doubles her  diligence  at  a  throne  of  grace,  and  besought  others 
to  pray  for  him. 

This  sea-captain  was  in  the  city  of  Antwerp,  Germany,  in  a 
convivial  party  in  a  parlor.  He  had  a  glass  of  wine  in  his  hand 
and  was  in  the  act  of  raising  it  to  his  lips — quick  as  a  flash  the 
thought  came  into  his  mind,  "  What  is  to  be  the  end  of  all  this .''  " 
The  arrow  sunk  deep.  He  put  the  glass  down  untasted — soon 
retreated  to  his  ship — locked  himself  in  his  cabin  and  tried  to 
pray.  His  distress  was  keen  and  pungent.  He  found  no  peace 
till,  weeks  after,  he  found  it  in  Jesus.  Alone,  on  his  homeward- 
bound  voyage,  Avith  his  Bible  and  the  great  Teacher,  he  dragged 
heavily  in  making  his  peace  with  his  God.  But  peace  came. 
The  hand  that  had  arrested  him  in  Antwerp,  in  that  parlor  amidst 
his  jovial  companions,  never  left  him  till  he  was  brought  to  him- 
self at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

Having  thus  incidentally  referred  to  the  mighty  hand  of  God 
as  come  down  upon  the  sea,  a  further  allusion  to  the  extraordinary 
work  of  grace  at  present  in  progress  among  the  class  referred  to, 
will  not  be  out  of  place.  There  is  perhaps  no  feature  in  the  pres- 
ent Revival  more  promising  of  an  extended  influence,  or  more 
significant  as  a  sign  of  the  times,  than  the  one  in  question.  Though 
the  number  of  seamen  recently  converted,  both  in  the  navy  and 
in  the  mercantile  service,  is  not  inconsiderable,  yet  it  is  not  so 


182  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

much  numbers  as  the  character,  the  position  and  the  relations  of 
these  men  to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  to  which  we  refer. 
Sailors  are  citizens  of  the  world.  They  visit  every  port,  and 
bless  or  curse  every  city  and  nation  under  the  sun.  And  such 
are  the  habits,  the  propensities,  the  nature  of  the  sailor  that  he 
will  leave  his  mark  wherever  he  goes.  He  is  true  to  his  master 
for  good  or  for  evil.  He  exerts  no  neutral  influence  among  the 
masses  of  the  people  wherever  he  may  be.  If  he  be  a  praying 
pious,  devout  man,  he  will  not  fail  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus ;  as  the  wicked  sailor  is  sure  not  to  fail  to  corrupt 
and  put  to  shame  the  very  heathen  who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to 
come  within  the  contagion  of  his  example. 

We  may  therefore  confidently  expect  to  hear  good  tidings  of 
salvation,  which  shall  gladden  the  heart  of  the  American  Church 
from  the  hundreds  of  seamen  who  shall  soon  go  out  from  the 
Bethel  churches  of  our  principal  seaports,  and  the  scores  that  are 
already  being  detailed  from  the  receiving  ships  of  New  York  and 
Boston,  and  soon  to  be  scattered  through  different  ships  of  the 
navy  and  sent  to  different  and  distant  ports.  They  will  go,  each 
in  his  o^Ti  way,  preaching  the  words  of  eternal  life.  Without 
charge  to  the  Church,  without  any  expensive  agency  of  missions, 
every  sailor,  every  officer  of  the  vessel,  may  be  a  missionary,  and 
in  proportion  to  their  fidelity,  every  nation  and  kindred  may  hear 
of  the  unsearchable  riches  in  Christ.  In  no  class  of  men  has  the 
Christian  Church  a  more  vital  interest  than  in  seamen.  Let  the 
leaven  of  genuine  piety  once  pervade  the  mass  of  the  five  hun- 
dred thousand  seamen  who  speak  the  English  language,  and  we 
should  at  once  have  a  class  of  representatives  abroad  among  the 
nations  whose  influence  would  tell  mightily  on  the  conversion  of 
the  world  to  Christ. 

There  is  something  perfectly  wonderful  in  this  subject  of 
prayer!     I  cannot  understand  it.     "It  seems,"  says  some  one, 


THE    INCREASED    SPIRIT    OF   PRAYER.  183 

"  as  if  God  Lad  disclosed  the  fact  that  he  cannot  withstand  the 
prayers  of  his  people."  What  means  it  that  God  could  not  de- 
stroy his  rebellious  people  Israel,  if  Moses  interceded  for  them  ? 
What  means  it  that  at  the  prayer  of  one  man,  the  sun  stood  still  ? 
at  the  prayer  of  another,  it  rained  not  for  three  years  and  a  half; 
and  again  he  prayed  and  there  was  an  abundance  of  rain  ?  When 
Israel  was  invaded  by  an  overwhelming  army,  one  man  prayed, 
and  180,000  of  Israel's  vaunting  foes  in  a  single  night  lay  pros- 
trate in  death,  and  Israel  was  saved.  Paul  and  Silas  prayed, 
and  their  chains  were  loosed,  and  the  prison-doors  were  Of)ened, 
and  the  foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken. 

If  such  be  the  power  of  prayer,  and  such  the  readiness  of  God 
to  hear  prayer,  and  there  be,  among  the  people  of  God,  so  greatly 
increased  a  spirit  of  prayer,  then  may  we  not  take  courage  that 
God  has  risen  up  and  made  bare  his  arm  to  hasten  his  work  on 
the  earth  ?  May  we  not  take  it  as  an  evident  token  that  he  will 
soon  set  up  his  kingdom  among  men  ? 

4.  The  same  conviction  is  pressed  on  the  mind  again,  from  the 
fact  that  men  of  all  conditions  in  life  so  readily  listen  to  the  calls 
of  mercy.  You  will  hear  the  claims  of  religion,  as  I  have  said, 
discussed  in  the  saloon  and  the  restaurant — on  the  pier  and  in 
the  counting-room — among  laborers  in  the  field,  and  mechanics 
in  the  shop — among  merchants,  lawyers,  physicians.  Seamen, 
as  they  do  duty  on  shipboard,  or  as  they  tarry  at  their  land 
"  retreats,"  or  congregate  in  the  Bethel,  inquire  after  the  chart 
and  the  compass  of  God's  eternal  truth,  and  seek  to  steer  their 
course  into  the  haven  of  eternal  rest.  Boatmen  on  our  rivers 
and  canals — a  godless  crew — are  lieard  to  ask  after  the  way  of 
life  and  plead  for  mercy.  One  hundred  and  fifty  boatmen  on 
the  Mississippi  River — a  hardened  race — have  during  the  past  year 
been  gathered  into  the  fold  of  the  good  Shepherd.  For  whom 
may  we  not  hope  now  ? 


184  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

In  one  of  our  great  cities  (Philadelphia)  there  are  eight  or 
ten  prayer-meetings  among  Jiremeii,  in  as  many  different  engine 
and  hose  houses.  "  A  silent  and  effectual  work  is  now  going  on 
among  them."  These  meetings  are  largely  attended,  and  promise 
rich  results.  "  Some  of  the  most  striking  conversions,"  says  one, 
"  that  have  ever  come  under  our  notice  have  been  brought  about 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  brooding  over  these  ©ngine-house  prayer- 
meetings."  Scarcely  is  there  a  class  of  men  so  far  removed  be- 
yond the  limits  of  mercy  that  individuals  of  the  class,  at  least, 
have  not  turned  a  favorable  ear  to  the  gracious  calls  of  the  gospel. 
They  are,  as  never  before,  ready  to  hear. 

And  not  only  has  there  been  such  an  unwonted  readiness  on 
the  part  of  so  many  to  give  a  respectful  if  not  a  cordial  and  sav- 
ing attention  to  the  things  that  belong  to  their  eternal  welfare, 
but  there  is  no  marked  or  conceited  opposition.  They  who  care 
for  none  of  these  things,  nevertheless,  seem  secretly  to  concede 
that  it  is  the  finger  of  God,  and  that  they  "  must  let  these  men 
alone,  for  if  this  counsel  or  this  work  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  over- 
throw it." 

It  is  but  a  common  testimony  which  comes  to  us  from  an  im- 
portant quarter  of  the  great  field,  viz.,  that  "those  Christians 
who  have  been  stimulated  to  make  efforts  for  the  good  of  their 
neighbors  and  friends,  have  been  surprised  that  the  mind  was 
already  prepared  and  open  to  impressions,  and  men  are  more  than 
ever  before  disposed  favorably  to  consider  the  subject  when  pre- 
sented kindly  but  faithfuUy  to  their  attention." 

0.  Another  feature  which  gives  the  present  religious  interest 
an  Apostolic,  pentecostal,  millennial  aspect,  is  the  Christian  union 
which  so  greatly  characterizes  it.  The  Jachin  and  Boaz  of  the 
strength  of  this  movement,  is  the  power  of  united  prayer.  The 
apostles,  as  preparatory  to  the  wonderful  manifestations  and  works 
of  Pentecost,  were  waiting  and  praying,  with  one  accord,  and  in 


CHRISTIANS    FLOWING   TOGETHER.  185 

one  place.  It  is  recorded  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  as  a  feature  of 
the  coming  golden  age  of  the  Church,  that  "  they  were  enlarged 
and  flowed  together ^  Nothing  like  the  present  movement  has 
so  completely  annihilated  denominational  barriers,  and  made 
Christians  of  every  name  to  flow  together.  Union  prayer-meet- 
ings, in  which  Christians  assemble,  simply  as  the  disciples  of  the 
same  great  Teacher  and  servants  of  the  same  Master,  have  been 
favored,  honored  spots  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  visit,  and 
the  Spirit  has  loved  to  bestow  his  richest  gifts.  Union  is  the 
watch-word — union  the  talisman  by  which  we  conquer — union  the 
love  which  binds  together,  the  spirit  of  our  rehgion,  the  badge 
of  discipleship,  "  By  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my 
disciples  because  ye  love  one  another."  This  should  give  strength 
and  power,  and  secure  progress  to  the  religion  of  Jesus.  This 
is  an  element  in  our  religion  which  gives  it  a  power  that  the 
enemy  can  neither  gainsay  nor  resist.  It  is  heavenly,  and  it 
will  exalt  the  earthly  and  make  it  set  in  heavenly  places. 

6.  We  come  to  speak  of  the  results  of  this  work  in  their  bear- 
ing on  the  future  destinies  of  the  Church.  And  what  impresses 
us  as  particularly  worthy  of  remark  here,  is  the  number  and  the 
character  oj  the  converts.  The  number  probably  may  be  safely 
put  down  at  500,000.  This  is  a  great  number  when  compared 
with  the  results  of  any  previous  revival  since  the  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  yet  it  is  but  a  small  number  compared  with  the  number 
that  still  remain  unconverted. 

But  what  more  especially  claims  our  attention  here,  is  the  char- 
acter of  the  converts.  Who  are  they  ?  Do  they  belong  to  classes 
in  society  not  so  generally  reached  by  spiritual  influences ;  and 
who,  if  reached,  are  fitted  to  exert  on  community  in  general  a 
deeper  and  more  permanent  influence  ?  We  make  no  comparison 
between  the  value  of  one  immortal  soul  and  another.  What  is 
most  highly  esteemed  of  man  may  be  least  esteemed  of  God. 


186  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

Yet  there  is  a  very  great  difference  to  a  community  and  to  the 
world  in  the  worth  of  the  conversion  of  different  men.  While  the 
poor  man,  and  the  ignorant  man  pray  as  fervently,  and  have  as 
much  power  with  God  at  a  mercy-seat,  and  may  illustrate  the 
truth  as  impressively,  and  in  every  thing  live  as  holily  as  the  rich, 
the  learned,  or  the  man  of  influence  and  position ;  yet  the  last 
may  do  all  this  and  a  vast  deal  more.  The  man  who,  in  addition 
to  a  holy  life  and  power  with  God  at  the  throne  of  grace,  conse- 
crates to  the  Lord  a  large  amount  of  wealth,  or  brings  talents  and 
the  acquisitions  of  learning,  or  the  power  of  social  position  and 
influence,  and  lays  them  all  down  at  his  Saviour's  feet,  does  more 
than  it  is  possible  for  the  poor  and  illiterate  disciple  to  do.  God 
has  given  him  more,  and  he  can  consecrate  more  to  his  Lord. 
He  comes  into  the  vineyard  of  his  Lord  with  weightier  responsi- 
bilities on  him,  and  with  increased  facilities  with  which  to  serve 
his  Lord ;  and  consequently,  if  he  do  his  duty,  his  conversion  is 
worth  more  to  the  common  cause  than  his  who  comes  in  empty- 
handed.  Just  as  the  man  who  comes  in  a  partner  into  some  joint 
stock  company.  If  he  come  with  a  good  stock  of  capital  and  en- 
terprise, habits  of  industry  and  business  talents  of  high  order,  and 
an  irreproachable  moral  character,  he  is  worth  vastly  more  to  the 
company  than  the  man  who  comes  with  neither  capital  nor  busi- 
ness aptitudes  nor  general  intelligence. 

Judged  on  this  principle  the  converts  of  the  past  year  consti- 
tute an  unusually  valuable  accession  to  the  Church.  Never  at 
any  one  time  were  there  brought  in  so  many  business  men — men 
of  wealth — of  learning,  of  influence — or  so  many  young  men, 
and  so  many  of  these  setting  their  faces  towards  the  sacred  office. 
There  has,  in  a  word,  been  brought  into  the  work  an  unusually 
large  amount  of  lay  labor.  And  the  whole  course  of  the  late  work 
has  been  to  provide  and  employ  for  the  general  prosperity  of  re- 
ligion the  labors  of  her  lay  membership.    Long  and  grievously  has 


ALL  ARE  EXPECTED  TO  WORK.  187 

the  Church  suffered  for  the  lack  of  a  feehng  of  individual  respon- 
sibihtj  in  her  members.  Private  Christians  have  for  the  most 
part,  heretofore,  embarked  rather  as  passengers.  The  ship  had 
been  provided,  furnished,  and  was  sailed,  they  supposed,  chiefly 
to  give  them  a  safe  and  gratuitous  passage  from  earth  to  heaven. 
They  were  willing  to  share  in  its  comforts  and  accommodations, 
and  hoped  to  share  largely  in  its  benefits  when  safely  landed  on 
the  heavenly  shore.  But  they  never  understood  that  they  had 
much  to  do  in  working  the  ship.  They  w^ere  passengers  and  not 
laborers. 

Many  are  now  beginning  to  learn  that  this  is  a  ship  in  which 
the  great  Captain  does  not  engage  to  take  cabin  passengers.  All 
must  work  their  own  passage — help  work  and  guide  the  ship,  and 
bring  her  to  a  safe  haven  and  a  successful  issue. 

Now  when  we  see  so  many  working  men  brought  into  the  Church 
— so  many  who  come  in  with  their  loins  girt  ready  for  the  work, 
and  who  from  the  very  outset  begin  to  work,  and  who  have  appa- 
rently buckled  on  the  harness  with  the  expectation  and  determina- 
tion to  work  and  to  make  a  life  business  of  it ;  and  when  we  see 
multitudes  come  into  the  vineyard  furnished  largely  with  the  quali- 
fications and  appliances  for  the  work — with  wealth,  talents,  learn- 
ing and  social  advantages,  can  we  be  mistaken  if  we  infer  from 
all  this  that  the  master  has  a  great  work  to  do,  and  that  he  is 
about  to  do  it  ? 

Again,  when  we  see  a  vast  many  already  in  the  Church  who 
have  heretofore  been  but  mere  passengers  in  the  ship,  enjoying 
her  protection  and  feeding  on  her  rich  stores,  and  hoping  she  may 
prove  a  safe  and  convenient  vehicle  to  convey  them  to  heaven — 
when  we  see  many  of  this  class  rousing  from  their  lethargy  and 
betaking  themselves  to  the  work,  taking  in  hand  the  laboring  oar, 
we  infer  again  that  a  new  era  in  Immanuel's  kingdom  is  struggling 


188  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

in  birth.  "  Christ  is  about  to  reorganize  the  world ; "  and  out  of 
the  ruins  of  the  old,  to  bring  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth. 

And  again,  we  are  conducted  to  the  delightful  conclusion,  when 
we  see  so  many  young  men  brought  in  and  subsidized  for  the 
work.  When  a  prevailing  majority  of  natural  births  are  males, 
human  sagacity  predicts  a  war  ahead.  In  very  truth  we  may 
predict  that,  when  a  decided  majority  born  into  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  are  males — young  men — just  putting  on  the  harness  and 
enlisting  in  the  King's  army,  there  is  war  in  the  no  distant 
future. 

God  makes  no  vain  preparations.  The  great  Captain  is  not 
thus  so  greatly  recruiting  his  army,  and  collecting  the  munitions 
of  war — storing  his  arsenals — preparing  the  weapons  of  war — 
and  appropriating  to  his  service  the  silver  and  the  gold — the  time, 
talents  and  various  services  of  all  sorts  of  laborers,  if  he  is  not 
about  to  arise  and  enter  on  the  warfare  with  renewed  vigor  and 
carry  it  into  the  strongholds  of  the  enemy.  We  do  not  see  a  great 
nation — a  wise  and  powerful  king,  greatly  filling  up  the  ranks 
of  his  army,  and  at  work  in  his  dock-yards  and  arsenals,  if  a 
great  war  is  not  expected.  And  the  extent  of  the  preparation 
indicates  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  expected  war.  We 
may  then  very  ligitimately  infer,  from  the  greatly  increased  num- 
bers of  men  enlisted  and  the  vast  amount  of  resources  engaged, 
that  our  Lord  and  great  Captain  is  about  to  push  the  warfare  to 
a  final  victory.  And  may  we  not  judge  something  of  the  magni- 
tude and  grandeur  of  the  approaching  conflict  by  the  vastness  of 
the  preparation  ? 

7.  Present  appearances  indicate  that  the  work  of  grace  now  in 
progress  will  become  more  extensive  and  powerful  than  it  has  yet 
been,  and  that  it  is  but  the  first  fruits  of  a  glorious  harvest  which 
remains  in  reserve  for  all  who  wait  for  the  appearing  of  the  Lord. 
"  At  no  time  since  the  revival  begun,  more  than  a  year  ago,  was 


PRESENT   ASPECT   AT   HOME    AND    ABROAD.  189 

the  spirit  of  prayer  more  earnest,  never  more  confident  of  a  bless- 
ing. The  past  week  will  be  long  remembered  for  glorious  an- 
swej's  to  prayer."  And  another  says  "  the  spirit  of  prayer,  as  indi- 
cated by  such  an  attendance  at  prayer-meetings,  inspires  fresh 
confidence  in  the  continuance  of  the  work."  There  seems  an 
increasing  confidence  and  high  expectation  on  the  part  of  Chris- 
tians of  all  classes  that  the  work  shall  not  cease.  The  undimin- 
ished numbers  that  attend  the  daily  meetings  for  prayer — the 
unanimity  of  spirit  which  pervades  those  meetings — the  multiplied 
and  urgent  requests  for  prayer  which  are  daily  made  to  these 
assemblies,  and  the  remarkable  answers  to  special  prayer,  all 
seem  pledges  of  a  continuance  of  God's  converting  grace. 

"  Since  the  beginning  of  our  meetings,"  writes  one,  "  we  have 
never  seen  any  thing  more  encouraging  than  the  present.  It  is 
felt  on  all  hands  that  we  are  on  the  eve  of  great  and  blessed  times. 
Stand  at  the  door  and  see  the  crowd  as  it  disperses.  These  are 
mostly  business  men.  Some  few  hurry,  but  very  few.  A  vast 
majority  seem  in  no  hurry  to  leave  the  scene." 

But  we  may  not  confine  our  observations  to  any  narrow  limits. 
We  ask  after  the  signs  of  the  times  in  different  parts  of  our  land, 
and  in  other  lands.  "  Watchmen,  what  of  the  night  ?  "  The 
response  comes  from  Ohio :  "  This  is  the  time  to  favor  Zion. 
Many  Christians,"  says  the  writer, "  are  believing  that  the  revival 
has  but  just  begun.  Never  did  I  hear  so  much  good  news  from 
so  many  pastors  as  last  Saturday."  "  The  revival  of  religion," 
says  the  Maine  Evangelist, "  throughout  our  State  seems  to  be 
deeper  and  more  earnest  at  the  present  time  than  at  any  time 
previous.  Nearly  all  our  exchanges  come  to  us  laden  with  the 
most  encouraging  reports.  It  is  evident  that  our  richest  harvest 
is  yet  to  come."  Tidings  from  Philadelphia  announce  that  •*  the 
work  of  grace  is  extending  itself  more  and  more  in  the  city  and 
environs,  and  for  thirty  miles  around."     Never  was  there  a  time 


190  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    >yORLD. 

when  so  many  heard  the  word  gladly ;  and  so  many  others  hear  to 
be  pricked  in  their  hearts  and  anxiously  ask,  what  shall  we  do  to 
be  saved  ?  "  God  has  come  down  in  great  power,  anew,  upon 
the  prayer-meetings  of  this  city  and  imparted  a  fresh  baptism  of 
his  Spirit." 

The  English  correspondent  of  the  Chronicle  says  :  "  Signs  of 
the  presence  and  power  of  God  are  manifest,  and  I  greatly  mis- 
take if  an  abundant  reaping  is  not  near  the  British  Church.  The 
conviction  is  deepening  in  the  minds  of  multitudes,  and  the  spirit 
of  anxiety  for  it  was  never  more  powerful  for  years." 

We  hear  the  same  good  tidings  from  Scotland.  "  Within  the 
month  or  two  the  interest  has  become  more  extended  and  intense. 
Within  a  very  recent  period  there  has  arisen  up  a  band  o^  lay 
evangelists  entirely  from  the  ranks  of  society,  who  have  not  only 
done  all  the  good  they  could  in  their  own  particular  districts,  but 
have  rendered  themselves  extensively  useful  in  the  country  gen- 
erally." 

And  we  are  yet  more  surprised  at  recent  intelligence  from 
Sweden^  in  which  we  had  feared  evangelical  Protestantism  had 
almost  died  out.  "  There  is  scarcely  a  parish,  if  there  be  one, 
in  which  some  persons  have  not  been  roused  to  an  earnest  con- 
cern about  their  salvation."  And  what  is  more  remarkable,  it  is 
so  even  in  parishes  where  a  pure  gospel  is  scarcely  preached  at 
all.  The  awakening  is  felt  among  all  classes.  "Not  a  few  of 
the  nobility  have  felt  its  power.  Some  of  the  principal  families 
among  the  aristocracy  are  at  the  present  time  devoting  the  in- 
fluence of  their  high  position  and  adding  to  that  their  personal 
exertions  to  spread  evangelical  truth.  Instances  of  sudden  con- 
version are  not  uncommon.  The  Divine  impulse  has  been  in 
some  cases  so  irresistibly  felt  in  the  midst  of  secular  engagements 
and  in  the  open  streets,  as  to  compel  to  the  exercise  of  instant 
prayer,  and  behind  the  first  gateway  persons  have  been  known  to 


IRELAND    AWAKENING   FROM   HER    LETHARGY.  191 

fall  on  their  knees  and  cry  for  mercy.  In  other  instances,  in  large 
and  fashionable  parties,  congenial  minds  under  a  spiritual  influ- 
ence have  retired  into  the  adjoining  boudoir,  and  the  one  sought 
counsel  of  the  other,  while  big  tears  of  penitential  sorrow  con- 
trasted strangely  with  diamonds  and  plumes." 

Five  hundred  thousand  Bibles  were  circulated  in  Sweden  the 
last  year.  Dr.  Stearne  of  London  says  of  this  work :  "  It  is, 
without  exaggeration,  one  of  the  greatest  spiritual  phenomena  of 
the  times  in  which  we  live." 

Our  hearts  are  cheered,  too,  with  good  news  from  France.  That 
land,  once  stained  with  the  blood  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  has 
a  few  who  have  not  "  defiled  their  garments."  Their  prayers  are 
heard.  These  "souls  under  the  altar,"  are  called  to  arise  and 
stand  up  before  the  presence  of  the  Lamb.  The  long  deferred 
blessing  has  at  length  come  down.  Power  is  given  to  the  word. 
Crowds  assemble  for  prayer  and  prais^e,  and  multitudes  are  in- 
quiring the  way  of  life.  The  best  spirit  of  the  Huguenots  is 
revived,  and  expectant  piety  hopes  great  things  from  that  laud 
so  long  overshadowed  by  the  Hierarchy  of  Rome.  A  glorious 
revival  is  there  begun  which  we  fain  hope  will  increase  in  power 
and  punty  till  that  great  people  and  their  mighty  prince  shall  be 
gathered  into  the  fold  of  the  great  Shepherd. 

And,  what  shows  the  power  and  onward  progress  of  this  work 
of  grace  if  possible  yet  more  strikingly,  Ireland,  poor,  priest- 
ridden,  down-trodden  Ireland,  has  become  the  theatre  of  the 
great  power  of  God.  "  There  is  now  going  forward,"  says  a 
gentleman  from  that  country,  "  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  county  of  Antrim,  such  an  amazing  work  of  grace 
as  the  world  has  never  seen  since  apostolic  times."  "  Churches 
are  opened  for  prayers,  but  so  thronged  that  multitudes  cannot 
gain  admission.  Not  only  individuals,  but  whole  families  whose 
members  had  encouraged  one  another  in  sin,  are  now  rejoicing  in 


192  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

holy  peace  and  blessedness."  In  some  places  the  mills  are  stopped, 
in  others  are  "  running  on  half  time,"  so  anxious  and  determined 
are  the  people  to  hear  the  gospel,  and  to  attend  upon  places  of 
prayer. 

In  one  instance  related,  a  funeral  is  passing  by  a  mill  or  fac- 
tory. An  operative  requests  the  accompanying  clergyman  to  stop 
and  preach  a  sermon.  In  a  few  minutes  the  mill  was  emptied, 
and  the  operatives  all  crowded  into  the  street  around  the  preacher; 
and  "  many  souls  were  awakened  and  converted  before  the  close 
of  that  sermon."  In  some  of  the  towns  the  prayer-meetings  have 
to  be  held  in  the  streets,  there  being  no  churches  or  halls  large 
enough  to  contain  them. 

A  very  pleasant  incident  is  related.  A  clergyman  from  a 
distance  is  inquiring  of  a  clerical  friend  he  had  met  in  the  street 
about  the  Revival.  To  show  the  readiness  of  the  people  to  hear 
the  gospel,  the  resident  clergyman  said,  "  Preach  right  here  in  the 
street."  "  I  can  preach,"  said  he,  "  but  I  have  no  congregation." 
"  Open  your  hymn-book  and  we  will  sing."  They  had  not  sung 
more  than  two  stanzas  when  hundreds  were  assembled.  The 
Spirit  of  God  came  down  in  great  power,  and  sinners  were  soon 
heard  crying  for  mercy.  And  the  same  writer  adds :  "  All 
through  the  north  of  Ireland  are  the  same  gracious  and  glorious 
displays  of  Divine  Mercy  in  the  salvation  of  souls." 

And  these  same  glad  tidings  from  the  frigid  North  are  echoed 
back  from  the  sunny  climes  of  India.  "All's  well,"  says  a  revered 
Missionary;  "the  light  is  rising  on  India's  obscurity,  and  her 
darkness  shall  yet  become  as  the  noonday.  We  are  encouraged  at 
the  many  indications  that  we  see  already  of  God's  wise  and  gracious 
designs  in  connection  with  the  late  mutiny,  and  we  look  for  a 
glorious  work  of  grace  in  this  land.  And  it  may  be  nearer  than 
we  imagine." 

And  the  Isles  of  the  South,  in  cheerful  notes,  respond :     "  There 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    A    GENERAL  REVIVAL.  193 

is  something  wouderful,"  writes  Mr.  Baldwin,  from  Laliaina,  "  in 
the  way  God  is  moving  among  us.  We  have  seen  nothing  like 
it  in  this  part  of  the  world.  The  greatest  transgressors  are  those 
who  seem  most  affected,  and  are  the  first  to  come  out  and  declare 
their  purpose  to  serve  God.  Two  weeks  ago  I  spent  the  Sab- 
bath at  a  village  seven  miles  south  of  this.  The  awakening 
there  seemed  even  more  universal  than  here.  In  Lahaina,  nearly 
all  our  oldest  and  most  hardened  backsliders  from  the  church  have 
come  of  their  own  accord  into  our  meetings;  and  as  soon  as  lib- 
erty is  given,  they  are  on  their  feet,  mentioning  what  they  have 
labored  all  their  lives  to  conceal,  asking  the  prayers  of  Christians, 
and  sometimes  breaking  out  in  prayer  for  themselves.  It  is  the 
same  also  with  the  greatest  sinners  out  of  the  Church.  They 
seem  to  be  pressing  towards  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  our 
prayer  is  that  they  may  not  stop  short  of  it." 

These  are  some  of  the  evidences  that  Grod  is  still  moving  on 
the  minds  of  men  without  respect  to  race  or  locality,  and  is  ready 
to  convert  and  save.  A  very  general  impression  is  produced — a 
very  general  confidence  and  expectation  exist  that  the  way  is  pre- 
pared for  a  more  general  and  extensive  Revival  than  we  have  yet 
seen. 

Truly  we  are  living  under  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  We 
may  expect  great  things.  G^d  is  working  wonders  of  grace,  and 
gives  no  doubtful  tokens  that  he  will  do  greater  things  jet.  Let 
the  sacramental  host  come  forward  in  the  strength  of  their  cov- 
enant God,  and  in  the  overcoming  power  of  prayer,  and  our  eyes 
shall  yet  see  what  our  imaginations  have  never  yet  conceived. 
Never  had  God's  people  more  for  which  to  be  unfeignedly  thank- 
ful— never  were  they  permitted  to  indulge  higher  hopes.  It  is  a 
season  of  the  richest  spiritual  blessing.  Salvation  has  come  near 
unto  us.  The  good  news  of  great  joy  has  reached  us  from  all 
13 


194  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

parts  of  our  land  and  from  other  lands,  proclaiming  the  Lord  as 
nigh  unto  all  that  call  upon  him. 

We  have  been  praying  and  God  has  been  answering  our  pray- 
ers, till   now  the  world  is  literally  opened  and  waiting  for  the 


''  This  awakened  and  listening  attitude  of  the  nations,  appear- 
ing at  the  same  time  with  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  increased 
prayer,  and  the  self-consecration  of  young  men,  in  increasing 
numbers,  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the  return  of  commer^ 
cial  prosperity — this  concurrence  of  events  all  tending  towards 
the  rapid  and  effective  diffusion  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  is  a 
sign  from  heaven  that  the  higher  dispensation  for  the  world's  sal- 
vation is  opening  upon  us." 

I  may  appropriately  quote  here  the  words  of  the  venerable  Mr. 
James  of  Birmingham,  England :  "  Are  we  not  authorized  to  ex- 
pect some  richer  effusions,  some  more  wonderful  manifestations, 
some  more  convincing  demonstrations,  of  the  Spirit's  power  than 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  witness  or  receive  ?  Is  this  Divine 
Agent  confined,  and  ought  our  expectations  to  be  confined,  to  rou- 
tine, formality  and  fixed  order  and  measure  ?  Should  we  not  look 
for  times  of  refreshing  days  of  power,  intimations  of  the  coming 
Millennial  glory  ?  Are  not  these  awakenings  the  very  things  we 
have  prayed,  longed  for,  waited  for  ?  Are  they  not,  too,  the  sub- 
ject of  inspired  prophecy  ?  Are  they  not  given  to  support  our 
faith  in  Divine  prediction,  and  animate  our  languid  hopes  of  the 
coming  glory  of  the  Millennial  age,  when  a  nation  shall  be  born 
in  a  day  ?  " 

Another  word,  in  closing,  upon  the  time  of  this  wonderful  man- 
ifestation of  the  Spirit.  This  revival  begun  "just  at  the  time 
when  the  exulting  note  of  defiance  and  contempt  from  the  infi- 
del school,  of  which  the  Westminster  Review  is  the  organ,  was 
raised  to  its  highest  pitch."    The  infidel  had  been  saying,  and 


EXULTING   NOTE  OF   THE   INFIDEL    SCHOOL.  195 

beginning  half  to  believe  that  "  the  world  had  advanced  far  above 
and  beyond  Christianity ;  that  Christianity  had  lost  its  power — 
had  become  obsolete,  and  would  have  to  be  abandoned  for  some 
new  religion  that  would  have  power  to  meet  the  necessities  of 
mankind."  The  enemy  was  exultant  in  consigning  God's  word 
to  the  fossil  remains  and  huge  debris  of  past  systems  and  schools. 
He  was  loud  in  calling  for  a  new  revelation,  a  new  religion  be- 
cause the  "  old  was  worn  out,  effete,  and  no  longer  able  to  satisfy 
the  human  heart  or  intellect."  This  most  timely  visitation  from 
on  high  has  confounded  Infidelity  and  put  to  shame  the  vaunting 
wisdom  of  man. 


chapteh  xni. 

The  year  1858— The  Sepoy  Mutiny  and  the  renovation  of  India— Peace  with 
China  and  what  of  it— Opening  of  Japan— The  Treaty- The  Embassy — 
Africa  and  her  Interior— The  Ocean  Telegraph— The  Great  Eastern— A 
new  era. 

No  year  since  the  Christian  era  has  been  more  remarkable  for 
great  and  far-reaching  events  than  1858.  We  receive  these 
events  as  unmistakable  signs  of  the  times.  They  have  thickened 
upon  us  the  past  year  in  such  quick  succession  that  before  the 
marvel  of  one  had  passed  away  another  trod  on  its  heels.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  this  single  year  has  given  birth  to  more 
great,  influential  events  which  shall  tell  on  the  future  destinies 
of  the  world  and  hasten  the  long  expected  golden  age  than  cen- 
turies were  wont  to  do  in  the  past  history  of  the  world.  These 
events,  while  they  have  nothing  in  common  in  their  character, 
and  are  brought  about  by  agencies  so  entirely  different,  and  im- 
pelled by  motives  so  unlike,  and  transpired  in  localities  so  remote, 
the  one  from  the  other,  yet  all  seem  converging  towards  a  com- 
mon object,  and  that  object  appears  to  be  the  overthrow  of  Idolatry, 
Infidelity,  and  every  form  of  false  religion,  the  speedy  and  univer- 
sal diffusion  of  the  ever-blessed  gospel,  and  the  final  establishment 
on  earth  of  the  kingdom  of  our  glorious  Lord. 

Never  before  were  we  made  to  feel,  as  now,  with  what  a  glo- 
(196) 


REVIEW    OP   THE    YEAR.  197 

rious  rapidity  God  is  hastening  the  great  crisis  of  tlie  world's  con- 
version, and  the  enemy's  discomfiture.  We  shall  do  well  briefly 
to  review  the  leading  events  of  the  year,  and  contemplate  them 
in  their  probable  bearing  on  the  great  and  final  crisis. 

The  year  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  Revolution  in  India 
— the  peace  with  China,  and  the  opening  of  that  great  and  pop- 
ulous country  to  free-trade  and  a  free-gospel ;  negotiations  and 
the  opening  of  commercial  relations  with  Japan ;  the  exploration 
of  Central  Africa,  and  the  new  field  of  commercial  and  religious 
enterprise  there  opened;  the  laying  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph; 
and  the  great  financial  convulsion  and  the  remarkable  religious 
interest  of  the  year.  Having  already  disposed  of  the  latter  two, 
a  brief  review  of  the  other  events  may  constitute  a  suitable  ap- 
pendix to  the  foregoing  chapter. 

III.  TJie  early  part  of  the  year  was  distinguished  by  the  rev- 
olution in  India — the  commencement  of  a  series  of  movements 
wdiich  we  confidently  expect  shall  be  for  the  more  perfect  Chris- 
tianization  of  that  great  and  populous  country — -for  the  breaking 
down  the  institution  of  caste — the  annihilation  of  the  Hindoo 
and  Mohammedan  prestige,  and  the  introduction  of  a  new  order  of 
things  in  government  and  religion. 

I  have  had  occasion  elsewhere*  to  speak  of  the  never-to-be 
forgotten  Sepoy  Mutiny  ;  and  of  what  God  seems  to  be  bring- 
ing out  of  it.  Yet  I  may  not,  in  this  review  of  the  year,  omit 
so  significant  an  item  in  the  year's  history. 

We  believe  the  time  is  at  hand  when  God  will  give  to  his  Son 
that  great  heathen  land.  Its  stagnations  of  forty  centuries  shall 
be  broken  up — ^its  idolatries  shall  be  abolished — its  superstitious 
abominations  and  oppression  shall  be  exposed  and  done  away, 
and  on  their  ruins  shall  be  reared  the  beautiful  superstructure  of 

*  See  "  India  and  her  People,"  by  the  Author. 


198  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

a  pure  religion  and  good  government.  We  believe  the  renova- 
tion of  India  is  now  hastening  on  with  more  rapid  strides  than 
ever  before  ;  and  that  the  late  appalling  revolution  was  but  the 
earthquake,  the  fire  and  storm,  which  go  before  when  God  is 
about  to  take  some  signal  step  in  the  advancement  of  the  Re- 
deemer's Kingdom.  We  believe  it  to  be  a  marked  sign  of  the 
times — a  not  doubtful  token  of  what  Grod  is  about  to  do  for  that 
great  and  populous  land. 

India  contains  a  sixth  part  of  the  population  of  the  globe ;  and 
she  only  needs  good  government,  a  Christian  civilization  and 
a  pure  religion  to  make  her  one  of  the  fairest  portions  of  the 
globe.  But  the  god  of  this  world  has  had  almost  undisputed 
possession  there  for  four  thousand  years.  It  has  been  a  land  of 
the  most  systematic  and  inveterate  idolatries — of  wars  and  foreign 
conquests  the  most  ruthless  and  bloody — of  rites  and  superstitions 
the  most  senseless  and  degrading.  All  the  activity  and  shrewd- 
ness of  a  class  of  men,  by  no  means  lacking  in  these  qualities, 
have  been  employed  from  time  immemorial  to  bind  the  yoke  of 
bondage  on  that  great  people.  Sin  has  there  had  its  perfect  work 
— the  man  of  sin  has  been  revealed.  Under  various  forms  and 
systems  has  Idolatry  had  its  day  and  development,  and  shown 
what  it  can  do  to  deliver  man  from  the  curse  of  sin,  and  make 
him  sit  in  heavenly  places.  Moslemism  has  done  what  it  could 
and  as  signally  failed,  and  a  half -Protestantism,  succumbing  to 
Mammon,  and  Moloch,  and  to  all  the  Dagons  of  the  land,  has 
played  its  ignoble  part.  During  a  full  century  an  unchristian 
Government  has  done  little  for  Christianity  but  to  bring  scandal 
on  the  Christian  name.  The  natives  were  left  in  doubt  whether 
their  Christian  governors  preferred  the  religion  of  the  cross  or 
the  Crescent,  of  Brahma  or  of  Boodh. 

Heaven  could  no  longer  tolerate  the  indignity ;  and  in  wrath  he 


SEPOY  MUTINY.  199 

rose  to  vindicate  his  cause,  and  dreadful  was  the  wrath ;  yet  there 
was  mercy  in  that  wrath. 

We  have  no  need  here  to  repeat  the  dreadful  details  of  the 
Sepoy  Mutiny.  The  annals  of  man's  history  scarcely  present  a 
more  appalling  array.  It  is  enough  for  our  present  purpose  that 
God  has  done  it,  and  done  it  for  a  great  and  final  purpose.  It  is 
evidently  one  of  those  great  revolutionary  struggles  which  ever 
and  anon  shake  terribly  the  earth.  We  are  less  concerned  with 
the  causes  of  this  dreadful  insurrection  than  with  the  results  ;  and 
not  so  much  concerned  with  the  immediate  results,  as  with  the 
great  and  final  purposes  which  Providence  seems  about  to  accom- 
plish by  it. 

It  matters  little  here  whether  "  impatience,"  on  the  part  of  the 
natives,  of  foreign  rule  and  a  remembrance  of  past  exactions 
and  cruelties ;  or  "  hatred  of  the  Christian  Religion  "  and  a  grow- 
ing apprehension  of  its  speedy  triumph,  and  the  not  distant  over- 
throw of  the  Religions  of  the  country ;  or  whether  it  were  "  rais- 
government  and  the  unchristian  example "  of  European  office- 
holders in  the  country ;  or  the  long -continued  disaffection,  and 
unheeded  grievances  of  native  princes ;  whether  it  were  a  calam- 
ity sent  to  humble  England  and  to  rebuke  the  Church ;  whether 
any,  or  all,  or  none  of  these  be  the  real  causes,  it  matters  little 
in  our  present  inquiry.  This  inquiry  is,  what  indications  do  we 
discover,  in  this  awful  outbreak  of  violence,  of  the  rapid,  onward 
progress  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  ? 

India  may,  in  an  important  sense,  be  taken  as  the  great  central 
nation  of  Heathendom.  The  day  seems  fast  approaching  when 
the  whole  of  this  great  heathen  empire,  consisting  as  it  does  of 
not  a  few  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  shall  be  subdued  and  given 
to  Christ,  its  rightful  owner.  And  the  late  Revolution  in  India 
seems  to  present  more  of  the  character  of  a  war  which  shall 
strike  a  death-blow  to  the  great  central  nation,  than  any  warfare 


200  THE  COMING  CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

of  modern  times ;  and  which  shall  at  the  same  time  enlarge  the 
borders  of  that  western  race  which  seems  destined  to  act  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  the  future  regeneration  of  the  nations. 

No  previous  event  has  ever  done  so  much  to  make  India,  her 
wants  and  her  woes,  her  religions  and  superstitions  known — what 
has  been  done  for  her,  and  what  advances  she  has  made  in  ameli- 
orating her  condition,  and  what  ought  to  be  done  for  her.  Nothing 
could  have  so  strikingly  revealed  the  real  character  of  the  pres- 
ent race  of  heathen.  We  are  startled  at  such  exhibitions  of  cold- 
blooded ferocity.  If  such  yet  be  the  character  of  the  unevangel- 
ized,  what  an  ai'gument  to  send  them  the  gospel.  If  such  be  the 
character  of  the  semi-civilized  Hindoos,  whom  we  had  supposed 
to  be  a  very  quiet,  inoflfensive  people,  what  may  we  expect,  when 
their  turn  shall  come  to  rise,  will  be  the  strength  and  malignity  of 
the  more  ignorant  and  savage  portions  of  the  heathen  world? 
All  Christendom  will  now  see  that  in  self-defense,  if  not  as  a 
matter  of  Christian  duty,  she  must  convert  the  heathen. 

And  nothing  has  done  so  much  to  humble  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  that  country,  and  rebuke  the  Christian  Church  for  her 
apathy  in  not  having  ere  this  Christianized  a  people  so  completely 
thrown  into  her  hands.  The  world  would  then  have  been  saved 
from  witnessing  one  of  the  most  appalling  warfares  which  has  ever 
disgraced  the  annals  of  our  race.  Had  England  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church  done  their  duty  during  the  century  which  has  elapsed 
since  England  has  had  possesion  of  that  country,  that  great  and 
noble  nation  had  escaped  this  scathing  rebuke,  and  the  world  had 
not  been  shocked  with  the  details  of  a  war  barbarous  almost  be- 
yond comparison. 

And  nothing,  it  is  believed,  has  struck  so  deadly  a  blow  on  the 
native  prestige  of  the  country.  What  of  governmental  power 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  natives  is  probably  gone  forever. 
The  native  regime  has  doubtless  departed  no  more  to  be  recalled. 


REBELLION    IN    INDIA WHAT    IT    HAS    DONE.  201 

Caste,  that  ruthless  tyrant  which  has,  unresisted  and  unques- 
tioned, from  century  to  century,  controlled  those  numerous  millions 
in  all  things  social,  secular  and  religious,  has  no  doubt  now 
received  its  final  doom.  Superstition  has  lost  its  power  to  charm 
and  blind  men  in  its  iron  chains ;  and  religious  systems,  hoary 
with  age,  and  which  have  controlled  uncounted  numbers  for  twice 
twenty  centuries,  are  become  weak  as  the  fallen  Dagon  before 
the  ark  of  the  Lord.  And  not  only  do  we  believe  that  the  civil 
and  religious  prestige  of  that  great  nation  has  now  met  an  over- 
throw from  which  it  can  never  recover,  but  the  population  itself, 
already  doomed  to  dwindle  away  before  a  superior  race,  has  been 
left  to  call  down  upon  their  heads  the  vengeance  of  British  arms, 
to  hasten  their  own  destruction.  Like  all  other  pagan  races  they 
seem,  as  a  mass,  destined  to  extinction.  Christianity  shall  inter- 
pose and  stay  the  hand  of  the  Destroyer,  and  rescue  a  multitude 
not  small,  of  such  as  the  gi-eat  Shepherd  will  gather  into  his  fold. 
But  ask  you,  after  another  century  shall  have  rolled  away,  where 
are  those  numeroiis  tribes^  echo  will  answer,  "  Where  ?  " 

They  who  watch  the  stately  steppings  of  the  King  of  kings  in 
his  onward  march  to  victory,  see  that  a  "  sword  goeth  before  him." 
The  destruction  of  his  enemies,  especially  of  the  heathen,  has 
always  held  a  prominent  place  in  the  movements  of  Providence. 
And  why  should  it  not  be  so  in  reference  to  this  great  nation  of 
heathen  ? 

And,  again,  while  the  rebellion  has  done  much  to  advance  the 
final  renovation  of  India  by  taking  out  of  the  way,  or  annihilat- 
ing obstacles,  it  has  done  more  by  testing  the  faith  of  the  native 
Christians,  and  arousing  the  whole  Christian  Church  to  renewed 
exertions  for  the  conversion  of  India.  Never  was  the  very  heart 
of  the  whole  British  Church  so  moved  as  now  to  come  up  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.     And  America  is  delight- 


202  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

fully  and  earnestly  responding  to  the  call  of  her  elder  sister  to 
come  to  her  aid  in  the  great  work. 

The  martyr  spirit  has  been  revived.  We  feared  that,  in  the 
day  of  temptation,  these  little  ones  would  fall  away.  But  they 
have  stood  the  fiery  trial  like  men  in  Christ ;  they  met  death  like 
martyrs.  Offers  of  exemption  from  prison  and  death  could  not 
draw  them  from  their  allegiance  to  their  Divine  Master ;  tortures 
the  most  inhuman  could  not  make  them  deny  the  Lord  that  bought 
them.  And  not  only  have  members  of  Mission  Churches  man- 
ftilly  met  death  rather  than  abjure  Christ,  but  others  have  avowed 
themselves  Christians  and  since  united  with  the  Church,  although 
assured  of  the  determined  vengeance  of  the  mutineers. 

And  we  are  daily  confirmed  in  this  favorable  view  of  India's 
not  distant  evangelization  by  the  late  reports  of  the  progress  of 
Christian  missions  there  since  the  partial  return  of  peace.  Num- 
bers in  different  parts  of  India  have  since  been  received  into  the 
Christian  Church  ;  and  what  has  not  failed  to  attract  the  grateful 
and  admiring  regard  of  the  Christian  more  than  any  thing  else, 
is  the  very  encouraging  report  from  Merut,  the  spot  which  had 
been  marked  as  the  place  where  first  a  native  Sepoy  was  dis- 
charged from  the  English  ai'my  because  he  had  become  a  Chris- 
tian;  and  distinguished  again  as  the  spot  where,  in  dreadful 
retribution  on  a  time-serving,  unchristian  Government,  the  late 
rebellion  burst  forth  in  retributive  vengeance ;  and  not  the  less 
distinguished  as  the  place  where  the  good  seed,  sown  in  less 
troublous  times,  is  taking  deep  root,  and  the  golden  sheaves  are 
already  being  gathered  in. 

And  mark  the  finger  of  God  here.  A  native  Christian  in  his 
flight  leaves  behind  his  Bible.  That  Bible  falls  into  the  hands  of 
a  native  who  is  disposed  to  peruse  it.  He  was  impressed  with  its 
truth,  convinced  that  it  taught  the  only  true  religion.  He  read,  and 
persuaded  others  to  read.     God  saw  it,  and  was  pleased  to  act  on 


THE    CLOUD    OF    WAR   RECEDING.  203 

their  hearts,  and  turn  them  from  the  vanity  of  their  idols  to  the 
living  God.  Late  intelligence  announces  a  Church  founded  at 
Merut  of  sixty  members  and  not  less  than  two  hundred  inquirers. 
Never  perhaps  were  the  friends  of  missions  more  hopeful  for 
India  than  at  the  present  moment. 

And  never  was  evangelical  Christendom  more  thoroughly  and 
universally  moved  to  send  the  gospel  in  the  shortest  possible  time 
to  that  benighted  land.  Loud  is  the  cry  of  every  Missionary 
Society  for  men  and  money— earnest  the  appeal  of  every  Bible 
and  Religious  Book  Society  for  means  to  send  the  word  of  life  to 
the  aid  of  them  who  are  perishing.  The  dying  experience  of 
many  of  the  native  Christians,  especially  when  outraged  by  the 
mutineers,  has  had  a  wonderful  influence  on  the  Hindoo  mind. 
"  The  blood  of  martyrs  "  in  India  is  literally  becoming  *'  the  seed 
of  the  Church."  Where  the  mutiny  was  the  worst  and  the  atroc- 
ities the  greatest,  at  the  present  time  seems  to  be  the  deepest 
religious  interest  and  the  most  earnest  inquiries  about  the  truth. 
The  submission  and  patient  sufferings  of  the  Christians  is  doing 
its  work  silently  and  surely. 

The  watchmen  on  those  distant  walls,  respond,  **  The  morning 
COMETH."  The  dark  cloud  of  war  is  receding,  and  with  it,  the 
thick  moral  darkness  which  has  so  long  settled  down  upon  that 
unhappy  land. 

God  has  doubtless  large  and  benevolent  purposes  to  answer 
through  these  commotions  and  this  bloodshed.  When  all  parties 
shall  have  been  humbled  and  duly  punished,  British  pride  rebuked 
and  the  B Irtish  and  American  Church  humb?ed  and  roused  to 
the  importance  of  the  conversion  of  India,  we  believe  a  glorious 
future  awaits  that  long-forsaken,  ill-fated  nation.  Hushed  shall 
be  the  din  of  war ;  the  carnage  of  the  battle-field  shall  be  forgot- 
ten. Immanuel  shall  there  unfurl  his  peaceful  banners;  and 
those  nations,  no  more  inured  to  the  devastations  of  war,  shall 


204  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

become  the  willing  subjects  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Faith  con- 
templates these  luxurious  climes  as  all  vocal  with  the  praises  of 
our  King.  Their  idol  gods  cast  to  the  moles  and  the  bats,  and 
the  waning  Crescent  sunk  into  the  abyss  whence  it  came,  all 
these  populous  nations  shall  bow  before  the  cross,  and  serve  the 
one  God. 

It  is  the  voice  of  faith  that  proclaims  there  shall  be  yet  another 
invasion,  and  yet  another  conquest  of  British  India ;  and  the 
fame  of  the  Clives  and  the  Wellesleys,  the  Lakes  and  the 
Havelocks,  the  Wilsons  and  Neills,  shall  yet  be  surpassed.  The 
conquest  is  to  be  achieved  by  railways  and  telegraphs,  by  power- 
looms  and  steam-engines — by  just  and  equal  laws,  by  schools,  by 
the  active  promotion  of  every  good  word  and  work,  by  the  prac- 
tical exemplification,  from  the  Himalayas  to  the  Indian  Ocean, 
from  the  Birmese  frontier  to  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  of  all  those 
Christian  principles  and  virtues,  which  have  the  promise  of  the 
world  that  now  is,  and  of  that  to  come.  To  this  course  the  Brit- 
ish people  are  impelled  by  the  strongest  motives  of  self-interest, 
as  well  as  by  the  purest  impulses  of  philanthropy.  And  we 
rejoice  to  see  that  they  have  become  so  deeply  sensible  of  the 
fact.  The  rebellion,  terrible  as  it  has  been,  will  prove  a  signal 
blessing,  and  no  misfortune,  if  the  sense  of  responsibility  and  spirit 
of  duty  which  have  been  awakened  shall  bear  their  appropriate 
fruits  in  practical  action.* 

It  is  thus  that  we  regard  the  Sepoy  Mutiny  as  a  sign  of  the 
times,  betokening  the  no  distant  downfall  of  Idolatry  in  all  nations, 
and  as  hastening  that  blessed  consummation  which  we  hail  as  the 
ccming  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  the  earth. 

IV.  Another  event  worthy  of  notice  which  has  distinguished 
the  year  just  closed,  is  the  peace  recently  concluded  with  China, 

*  "  India  and  her  People,"  by  the  writer  of  this  work. 


THE    LATE    PEACE    WITH    CHINA.  205 

and  the  opening  of  that  great  and  populous  country  to  a  free 
trade  and  a  free  gospel. 

China  is  an  ancient  nation.  When  Europe  was  a  wilderness, 
and  America  was  unknown,  China  was  in  the  vigor  of  her  man- 
hood— matured,  rich,  civilized — more  advanced  in  the  arts  and 
sciences,  more  consolidated,  more  systematized  in  her  religious 
faith  than  perhaps  any  nation  then  known.  But  China  has  from 
century  to  century  strangely  and  determinedly  isolated  herself 
from  all  foreign  intercourse.  Though  in  dimensions  the  largest, 
in  age  the  oldest,  and  with  her  teeming  multitudes  of  people  the 
most  numerous,  and  in  the  exhaustless  resources  of  her  soil, 
her  mines  and  her  mechanical  skill  the  most  wealthy,  she  has 
proudly  and  selfishly  stood  aloof  from  the  great  family  of  nations. 
She  has  refused  her  shoulder  to  bear  international  burdens,  or 
to  contribute  her  share  of  influence  to  international  prosperity. 
No  foreigner  might  enter  her  bolted  gates. 

British  cannon,  a  few  years  ago,  in  a  war  which  we  have  no 
necessity  to  attempt  to  justify,  battered  down  some  of  her  strong- 
holds, and  forced  a  treaty  which  opened  some  of  her  ports  to  for- 
eign trade  and  intercourse.  But  this  did  not  long  serve  the 
rapidly  unfolding  plans  of  an  ever  onward  marching  Providence. 
Commerce  demanded  more.  Literature,  science,  civilization, 
Christianity  demanded  more.  Nations  no  more  than  individuals, 
may  longer  be  allowed  to  live  to  themselves.  Consequently  in 
the  ever  restless,  never  retrogading  movements  of  human  affairs, 
another  war  transpires.  Now  France  and  Russia,  as  well  as 
England  and  America,  have  demands  to  make  of  China.  She 
can  no  longer  be  allowed  to  coil  herself  up  in  her  own  selfishness. 
She  must  now  live  and  let  live  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
She  is  at  length  forced  to  yield  to  these  demands  and  to  throw 
open  her  gates  and  let  the  nations  come  in. 

The  late  war  with  China  has,  we  trust,  forever  settled  the  ques- 


206  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

tion  of  her  exclusiveness.  The  terror  of  French  and  British 
arms,  on  the  one  hand,  backed  by  the  urgent  and  oft-repeated 
demands  of  Russia  and  America ;  and  the  resistless  and  ruthless 
invasions  of  the  "  Rebels  "  on  the  other  hand,  forced  the  trembling 
emperor  and  a  weak  government  to  yield  to  the  demands  of  the 
four  great  western  nations.  The  treaty  embraces  all  they  could 
have  asked  or  could  desire.  "  This  haughty  and  isolated  power 
has  thus  been  humbled,  and  forced  to  open  its  doors,  which  have 
heretofore  been  rigorously  closed,  to  the  nations  of  Christendom. 
Its  great  river,  the  Yang-tse-kiang,  is  to  be  opened  from  its  mouth 
to  its  source,  a  distance  of  three  thousand  miles  through  the  very 
heart  of  the  great  empire.  Six  more  ports,  eleven  in  all,  are 
opened  to  commerce.  Missionaries  are  to  be  allowed  to  diffuse 
Christianity  throughout  the  empire  without  persecution  or  annoy- 
ance, and  the  Chinese  are  allowed  to  embrace  it  without  any  injury 
to  their  persons  or  property.  Foreign  ministers  are  to  have  free 
access  to  the  imperial  court  at  Pekin,  whenever  necessary." 

This  we  claim  to  be  one  of  the  great  events  of  the  year, 
an  event,  which,  in  its  relations  to  the  world's  future,  can  scarcely 
be  overrated.  It  has,  as  if  in  a  day,  introduced  into  the  great 
family  of  nations  a  new  member,  of  full  age,  of  huge  dimensions, 
laden  with  wealth,  and  rich  in  mechanical  skill  and  in  all  the 
resources,  which,  if  rightly  directed,  cannot  fail  to  make  a  nation 
truly  great.  But  this  new  sister  comes  into  the  great  sisterhood 
of  nations  with  but  a  heathen  civilization,  and  a  Pagan  religion — 
wise,  yet  ignorant  of  every  thing  which  pertains  to  the  great  end 
of  this  life,  and  to  the  realities  of  the  life  to  come. 

China  is  the  last  great  nation  that  remained  to  be  opened  to  the 
ameliorating  influences  of  Christianity.  And  scarcely  any  event 
could  just  now  more  distinctly  betoken  the  speedy  coming  of  the 
long  looked  for  day  when  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become 
the  kingdom  of  our  Lord.    Chinese  Idolatry  seems  more  com  pletely 


SOLICITUDE    IN    REGARD    TO    CHINA.  207 

intrenched  in  the  strongholds  of  civilization,  learning,  wealth,  num- 
bers, and  national  pride,  than  any  other  system.  The  charm  is  now- 
broken  ;  the  death-blow  is  struck — the  strong  governmental  arm 
which  has  been  so  long  nerved  for  the  defense  of  that  religion,  is 
now  paralyzed;  her  strong  intrenchments  are  prostrated;  and  the 
formidable  obstacles  to  the  free  and  universal  evangelization  of 
China  seem  removed.  The  chief  solicitude  now  in  reference  to 
the  conversion  of  that  great  nation  to  Christ,  relates  to  the  ability — 
rather  to  the  willingness  of  the  Christian  Church  to  put  forth  the 
adequate  Christian  effort,  and  to  make  the  needed  sacrifice  to  ac- 
complish the  great  work.  Heaven  is  willing — Providence  has  the 
most  significantly  and  effectually  moved  in  the  matter.  Heaven's 
aid  is  ready — and  now  it  would  seem  that  heaven  waits  that  man 
should  do  his  part. 

The  missionaries  in  China  are  looking  with  anxious  expecta- 
tion to  see  what  will  be  the  effect  of  this  great  event  upon  Chris- 
tians at  home.  Especially  are  they  turning  their  eyes  to  this 
country  with  the  hope  of  being  strengthened  by  the  fruits  of  the 
great  revival  with  which  our  churches  have  been  blessed.  In 
removing  the  last  obstacle  to  the  introduction  of  the  truth  into 
that  vast  empire,  God  in  his  providence  has  opened  a  door,  which 
those  who  pray  for  the  extension  of  his  kingdom  should  be  ready 
to  enter. 

"  It  was  a  remarkable  and  delightful  coincidence "  says  one, 
"  that  while  the  first  dispatch  sent  across  the  Atlantic  cable  was  the 
chorus  of  the  angels  proclaiming  glory  to  God  and  peace  on  earth, 
the  first  news  telegraphed  from  the  Old  World  was  the  unexpected 
intelligence,  '  Peace  with  China,'  and  a  report  that  the  mutiny  in 
India  is  being  rapidly  quelled.  Under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of 
peace,  the  Chinese  empire  is  open  to  the  trade  of  all  foreign  pow- 
ers.    The  Christian  religion  is  allowed  in  all  parts  of  the  empire. 


208  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

Foreign  envoys  are  to  be  received  at  the  capital,  and  France 
and  England  are  to  be  indemnified  for  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

"  Sixteen  years  ago,  August  29,  the  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  China  was  closed  by  the  signing  of  a  treaty,  by  which  five 
ports  were  thrown  open  to  foreign  commerce.  Three  years  after, 
a  treaty  was  ratified  between  China  and  the  United  States,  by 
which  our  citizens  were  admitted  to  the  same  privileges.  This 
new  treaty  greatly  enlarges  these  privileges,  and  gives  the  prom- 
ise of  opening  to  the  gaze  of  the  world  the  political,  commercial, 
and  social  life  of  that  most  exclusive  people.  The  importance 
of  the  commerce  of  China  can  hardly  be  estimated.  It  is  stated 
that  the  tonnage  used  in  the  navigation  of  its  rivers  and  canals  is 
larger  than  the  aggregate  tonnage  of  all  the  other  nations  of  the 
earth ;  that  ten  thousand  imperial  barges  collect  and  carry  to  Pekin 
the  duties  in  kind  imposed  on  grain,  and  an  equal  number  on  salt ; 
that  the  annual  revenue  of  the  government  amounts  to  about 
$120,000,000 ;  that  there  are  over  four  thousand  walled  cities  and 
towns,  and  not  a  creek  or  haven  on  which  there  is  not  a  town  of 
commercial  importance ,  and  that  its  great  river  Yang-tse-kiang 
opens  up  the  trade  of  a  hundred  millions  of  people. 

"  But  this  treaty  concerns  the  Christian  still  more  than  the 
merchant.  That  vast  empire,  containing  one-third  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  world,  is  now  open  to  the  spread  of  the  religion  of 
Christ.  Instead  of  being  confined  to  a  few  points  on  its  borders, 
the  missionary  may  now  penetrate  to  the  heart  of  the  kingdom. 
A  still  greater  load  of  responsibility  is  thrown  upon  the  churches. 
The  gospel  must  be  given  to  the  four  hundred  miUions  of  Chi- 
nese. Men  and  means  must  not  be  wanting,  now  that  the  door 
has  been  providentially  opened." 

And  we  must  not  overlook,  in  the  review  of  the  providential 
opening  of  China,  the  terrific  agency  of  the  present  Insurgents' 
war.   Like  the  first  Mohammedan  conqueror  of  India  with  his  feai-- 


THE    INSURGENTS — HOPE   FOR   THE    FUTURE.  209 

less,  half-barbarous  Afghans,  they  spread  devastation  and  death 
wherever  they  go.  They  fight,  they  pray,  they  plunder  and  rob, 
and  break  in  pieces  idols  and  demolish  temples  ;  and  are  the  fierce 
champions  for  the  unity  of  God  and  the  religion  of  Christ.  They 
seem  sent  before  as  a  scourge,  to  break  down  and  put  out  of  the 
way  what  God  is  about  to  destroy — the  rod  of  heaven's  anger  to 
weaken,  and  then  annihilate  the  prestige  of  the  native  govern- 
ment, and  finally  to  batter  down  the  great  colossus  of  Chinese 
Idolatry.  This  idea  is  confirmed  by  those  most  conversant  with 
the  condition  and  prospects  of  China.  A  missionary  recently 
writes:  "The  rebels  in  the  country  are  reported  to  have  com- 
mitted dreadful  enormities,  in  some  places,  in  revenge  for  what 
was  done  to  them  last  year,  when  they  were  driven  away.  I 
would  hardly  like  to  have  them  regarded  here  as  Christians ;  I 
fear  they  would  do  little  honor  to  the  Christian  name ;  and  yet  I 
may  say,  in  regard  to  this  rebellion,  whether  in  this  province  or 
elsewhere,  that  if  there  is  not  a  single  individual  among  all  the 
"  insurgents  "  who  is  a  true  follower  of  Christ,  I  think  it  is  a  great 
step,  preparing  the  way  for  the  gospel  in  China,  to  have  an  army 
of  natives  marching  through  the  country  destroying  the  idols  and 
ploclaiming  that  there  is  but  one  God.  By  this  movement, 
which  at  present  brings  countless  miseries  upon  this  nation,  God 
may,  in  his  wonder-working  providence,  be  preparing  the  way 
for  speedy  and  most  wonderful  displays  of  his  grace  in  this  dark 
land." 

We  think  we  see,  in  the  present  aspect  of  the  Chinese  Empire, 
and  especially  in  the  results  of  the  late  war  and  in  the  prospects 
of  the  successful  diffusion  of  the  gospel  there,  a  glorious  hope  for 
China,  and,  in  that  hope,  a  deliglitful  anticipation  of  the  coming 
of  the  universal  kingdom  of  our  Lord.  The  Christian  Church  is 
now  earnestly  asking,  "How  shall  we  best  evangelize  India  and 
China?" 

14 


210  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

V.  The  next  important  event  of  the  year,  and  one  kindred  to 
the  last,  is  the  late  commercial  Treaty  with  Japan,  and  its  opening 
to  receive  the  gospel. 

The  eagle-eye  and  the  all-encroaching  spirit  of  commerce  have 
for  a  long  time  been  directed  towards  Japan.  That  rich  and  pop-' 
ulous,  and  in  many  respects,  highly  civilized  yet  idolatrous  people, 
have  most  sternly  and  hitherto  most  successfully  resisted  all  the 
overtures  of  commerce  and  intercourse  with  foreigners.  They 
have  at  length  yielded  to  the  demands  of  human  progress  and 
thrown  open  their  doors.  Soon  shall  European  science  pervade 
that  hitherto  isolated  land.  Modern  inventions  and  discoveries,  im- 
provements and  facilities  for  intercourse  and  communication  with 
other  nations,  shall  now  bless  that  land.  Railways,  steam-ships, 
telegraphs,  shall  henceforth  become  so  many  agencies  and  rcr 
sources  for  progress  and  profit  to  the  improved  and  highly  im- 
provable people  of  Japan.  A  great  and  promising  field  is  there 
open  to  the  agency  of  the  Christian  Press.  No  people  are  per- 
haps better  prepared  to  profit  by  the  introduction  among  them  of 
a  Christian  literature. 

Since  writing  the  above  the  Japanese  Embassy  have  arrived 
in  this  country  to  ratify  the  treaty  alluded  to.  The  manner  the 
embassy  have  been  received ;  the  universal  interest  excited  in  the 
event  throughout  the  country ;  the  very  gratifying  attentions  paid 
these  distinguished  strangers,  are  all  significant  events,  and  signs 
of  the  times.  It  encourages  the  hope,  so  animating  to  Christian 
faith,  that  the  last  formidable  barrier  to  intercourse  with  any  con- 
siderable nation,  is  at  length  removed,  and,  having  embraced,  as 
we  now  hope,  this  interesting  but  hitherto  isolated  people  in  the 
fellowship  of  nations,  we  would  fain  receive  it  as  a  token  that 
the  King  of  nations  and  the  King  of  Zion  is  about  to  gather  that 
people  into  the  fold  of  CIn'ist.  The  event  is  truly  extraordinary 
and  hopeful,  and,  though  the  hope  may  be  deferred,  yet  we  wait 


JAPANESE    EMBASSY   IN   NEW    YORK.  211 

to  see  this  to  be  but  the  beginning  of  a  most  interesting  series  of 
events. 

The  extraordinary  reception  of  the  Embassy  in  New  York  on 
the  16th  (June,  1860),  seems  to  the  reflecting  mind,  to  foreshadow 
the  coming  importance  of  the  event,  as  the  shrewd  people  of  that 
great  commercial  city  seem  to  interpret  it.  Scarcely  any  pre- 
vious event  has  ever  called  forth  so  enthusiastic  a  demonstration. 
It  was  a  grand  and  whole-hearted  welcome  of  Japan  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  nations.  Broadway  for  miles  was  thronged  with  the  eager 
multitude.  Flags  of  all  nations,  at  different  points,  greeted  the 
imposing  cortege.  Some  index  of  the  public  feeling  seemed  sig- 
nahzed  in  the  numerous  mottoes  which  appeared  in  the  windows. 
I  transcribe  one  as  a  specimen.  It  appeared  at  Nos.  320  and  322 
Broadway.  Numerous  flags  were  flying,  and  there  was  a  motto 
in  each  window.     The  following  were  the  most  striking : 

WELCOMK — JAPANESE   EBIBASSY — WELCOME. 

JAPAN  AND  UNITED  STATES.      FRIENDLY  NATIONS. 

UNIVEBSAL  BROTHERHOOD. 

GATES   OF  ALL  NATIONS  THIS   DAY   OPENED. 

WALLS  OF  TYRANNY  AND  OPPRESSION  MOULDERING  TO  DUST  THE  WORLD  OVER. 

FREEDOM   FOR   THE   WORLD.      THE   TRUMPET-BLAST   OF  THE   NINETEENTH 

CENTURY. 

LIBERTY,   EQUALITY  AND  FRATERNITY. 

1860  —  PEACE,   PROGRESS,   PROSPERITY. 

ONE   BLOOD — ALL  NATIONS. 

ALL  NATIONS — UNION  FOREVER. 

THE   JUBIT^E   OF   THE   WORLD   NEAR  AT  HAND. 

But  we  here  refer  to  the  Treaty,  the  Embassy  and  all  the  in- 
terest that  attaches  to  it,  as  an  event  principally  challenging  our 
admiration  and  Christian  gratitude,  because  of  its  hopeful  and 
prospective  relations  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  among  that  in- 
teresting people,  and  their  final  Christianization.  The  great 
obstacle  seems  now  removed,  and  henceforward  the  friends  of 


212  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Christian  Missions  may  arise  and  in  the  name  of  Immanuel  take 
possession  of  the  land.  A  wide  and  effectual  door  seems  there  to 
be  opened,  and  it  is  truly  delightful  to  witness  the  readiness  of 
our  Benevolent  Societies  to  enter  in.  Already  meetings  have 
been  convened,  and  consultations  held,  and  measures  adopted  for 
the  speedy  evangelization  of  Japan. 

Truly  God  seems  to  be  hastening  his  work  on  the  earth.  India, 
China  and  Japan,  the  great  nations  which  Satan  hath  bound,  lo 
these  twice  eighteen  hundred  years,  are  now  disenthralling  them- 
selves from  the  bondage  of  ages — are  bursting  the  chains  of  their 
darkness,  and  are  coming  to  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God.  Half  the  population  of  the  globe,  as  embraced  in  these 
three  great  nations,  are  now,  in  the  wonder-working  providence 
of  God,  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  Christian  Church,  waiting  the 
voice  of  the  gospel  trumpet,  bidding  them  that  are  dead,  to  arise 
to  a  new  national,  social  and  religious  life.  Never  were  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  Christian  Church  so  fearfully  increased ;  never 
did  the  conversion  of  all  nations  to  Christ  appear  so  near. 

But  there  is  yet  another  great  Missionary  field  beginning  to 
loom  up  from  the  dark  abyss  of  Paganism,  which  we  may  not  here 
overlook.  When  the  great  Asiatic  field  shall  have  been  occupied 
— when  the  teeming  millions  of  India,  China  and  Japan  shall 
be  added  to  Christ's  heritage,  then  we  may  expect  Zion's  conquer- 
ing King  will  turn  his  victorious  sword  towards  the  long  neglected, 
the  long  afiiicted  children  of  Ham.  Africa  shall  become  the  ob- 
ject of  his  next  great  conquests.  Ethiopia  shall  stretch  out  her 
hands  to  God.     We  need  not  then  be  surprised  that, 

VI.  The  fourth  great  event  of  the  year  relates  to  movements 
in  Africa  and  in  respect  to  Africa. 

The  last  year's  explorations  of  Livingstone,  Bowen  and  Barth 
into  the  interior  of  this  almost  unknown  continent,  have  formed 
a  new  eia  in  the  history  of  Africa.     Starting  from  difierent  points 


OPENING    OF    ANOTHER    MISSIONARY    FIELD.  213 

on  the  coast,  eacli  of  these  travelers  explored  different  portions 
of  the  interior,  and  all  essentially  for  the  same  general  purpose. 
They  have  laid  open  to  the  world  great  and  interesting  fields,  which 
invite  the  labors  of  the  philanthropist  and  the  Christian.  Those 
inland  tribes  and  nations  are  found  to  be  far  more  intelhgent,  in- 
dustrious, enterprising  and  hopeful  than  the  people  on  the  coast. 
They  have  a  better  country,  a  more  salubrious  climate — show 
themselves  not  the  less  accessible  to  foreign  influence,  and  de- 
cidedly favorable  to  the  introduction  among  them  of  the  gospel. 

A  new  impulse  is  consequently  given  to  the  friends  of  Africa 
to  redouble  their  diligence  and  zeal  for  the  renovation  of  that 
long  oppressed  and  abused  continent,  with  fresh  hopes  of  success. 
Africa,  we  may  expect,  shall  henceforth  become  a  most  interest- 
ing missionary  field.  In  proportion  as  she  has  been  the  scene  of 
oppression  and  cruelty,  of  neglect  and  abuse,  by  other  nations, 
shall  she  receive  at  the  Lord's  hand  "  double  "  for  all  her  aflclic- 
tions. 

But  we  should  quite  fail,  rightly  to  estimate  the  recent  opening 
of  Africa  as  a  promising  field  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  if  we 
did  not  take  a  cursory  view  at  least  of  the  pecuhar  character  of 
this  field,  and  the  prospects  of  a  rich  and  speedy  return  for  all 
labor  bestowed.  We  shall  therefore  briefly  refer  to  a  few  features 
in  the  present  condition  of  Africa,  which  are  especially  hopeful. 

1.  The  native  Africans  are  a  settled  people — not  migratory — 
moving  from  place  to  place,  and  never  at  home,  so  that  what 
should  be  done  one  year  should  be  undone  the  next. 

2.  They  are  a  domestic  people — formed  into  families,  and  ap- 
pear capable  of  strong  domestic  affections.  There  is  not  a  more 
promising  basis  for  the  success  of  all  religious  instruction.  And 
to  this  we  may  add,  they  are  naturally  kind,  affectionate,  generous 
and  benevolent.  No  people  appear  by  nature  to  be  more  richly 
endowed  with  all  the  gentler  virtues  of  humanity.     Love,  grat- 


214  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

itude,  obedience,  docility,  are  traits  of  moral  character  most  easily- 
developed  in  the  African,  and  altogether  promising  of  success  in 
all  our  attempts  for  his  moral  improvement. 

3.  But,  what  is  yet  more  promising,  the  African  race,  more 
than  any  other  race,  are  readily  impressed  with  religious  truth. 
The  religious  instinct  is  ever  prominent.  I  know  of  no  one  trait 
of  which  travelers  and  missionaries  have  more  frequently  spoken 
than  the  unusual  susceptibility  of  tlie  African  to  the  religious 
sentiment ;  and  certainly  there  is  not  a  more  hopeful  trait.  No 
race  has  received  the  gospel  with  so  much  eagerness  and  docility. 
And  the  reason  assigned  by  the  missionary  is  that  there  seems  in 
their  very  nature  a  principle  of  reliance  and  unquestioning  faith 
which  has  not  been  discovered  in  any  other  race.  "  It  has  often 
been  found  among  them  that  a  stray  truth,  borne  on  some  breeze 
of  accident  into  hearts  the  most  ignorant,  has  sprung  up  into  fruit, 
whose  abundance  has  shamed  that  of  higher  and  more  skillful 
culture."  African  races  form  an  exception  to  all  other  races,  in 
their  readiness  to  embrace  the  gospel  as  soon  as  it  is  offered. 
And  more  especially  has  this  been  found  to  be  true  of  the  more 
highly  civilized  tribes  of  the  interior.  They  make  the  missionary 
welcome — provide  houses  for  them,  and  do  what  they  can  to 
facilitate  their  work. 

4.  Another  hopeful  feature  of  this  great  field  is,  that  there 
is  in  Africa  less  to  be  undone  than  in  any  other  portion  of  the 
heathen  world.  In  India  and  China  the  ground  is  preoccupied 
with  a  sturdy,  inveterate  growth  of  error,  to  eradicate  which,  and 
to  prepare  the  ground  for  the  good  seed,  is  for  years  the  great 
work  of  the  missionary.  The  greatest  obstacle  to  his  immediate 
success  lies  in  the  preoccupation  of  the  Pagan  mind  with  false 
systems  of  philosophy  and  religion,  which  are  stereotyped  in  a 
false  literature.  In  Africa  there  is  very  little  such  rubbish  to  be 
removed.     Books,  science,  philosophy,  they  have  none.     They 


A  HOPEFUL  FEATURE  FOR  AFRICA.  215 

are  a  people  for  the  most  part  without  a  written  language — they 
have  no  literature — no  long  established  and  venerated  systems 
of  religion,  to  be  contended  with  and  overcome,  before  truth  can 
be  received  and  established.  They  are  without  a  history.  Their 
crude  Religion  has  neither  system  nor  law,  nor  any  very  strong 
hold  on  the  mind  of  the  people.  They  are,  compared  with  the 
old  Asiatic  nations,  without  a  religion.  This  they  virtually  ac- 
knowledge in  their  anxieties  that  the  bookmen  may  come  among 
them.  And  as  the  missionary  goes  he  has  nothing  to  contend 
with  but  ignorance  and  common  depravity — nothing  to  do  to  re- 
move the  rubbish  of  wrong  systems,  before  he  may  build  the 
superstructure  of  the  right.  A  people  without  a  literature  or 
religion  are  in  a  much  more  favorable  state  to  be  acted  on.  Vast 
indeed,  in  this  respect,  is  the  diiOference  between  the  native  of 
Africa  and  the  superstitious,  conceited  Hindoo,  or  the  no  less 
higoiQ^  Momanist.  So  completely  is  the  latter  ensconced  in  his 
impregnable  fortresses  of  error,  which  are  all  a  matter  of  the  book, 
written  and  engraven  on  his  mind  as  with  a  pen  of  iron,  that  the 
well  aimed  aiTow  will  sarcely  reach  him. 

What  immense  facilities  for  good,  then,  do  they  possess,  who 
have  it  in  their  power  to  give  a  people  their  literature — to  begin  to 
write  their  history — to  make  their  books — to  have  the  control  of 
their  education — to  teach  them  philosophy,  and  to  give  them  their 
religion !  They  have  very  much  thrown  into  their  hands  the 
control  of  the  native  mind.  They  secure  at  once  the  three  great 
elements  for  reforming,  civilizing,  and  Christianizing  a  people  ; 
education,  the  Press,  and  a  preaclied  gospel.  Such  facilities  has 
the  missionary  enterprise  now  in  Africa.  No  other  field  probably 
presents  so  few  obstacles  to  success. 

5.  Another  feature  in  the  present  condition  of  Africa  relates 
to  her  commerce.  This  potent  agent  which  Providence  is  pleased 
largely  to  employ  for  the  amelioration  and  final  Christianization 


216  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD 

of  a  people,  has  hitherto  done  little  for  Africa.  Aside  from  the 
direct  agency  of  divine  truth,  there  is  not  perhaps  a  mightier  el- 
ement at  work.  In  Africa  this  agency  has  but  just  begun  to  be 
operative  and  make  its  power  felt.  Her  vast  resources  are  now 
being  developed — all  the  great  staples  of  commerce  ai-e  there  in- 
digenous to  the  soil — all  the  various  and  rich  productions  of  the 
Indies,  East  or  West,  are  found  there,  and  these  are  the  articles 
of  exchange  which  are  so  much  in  demand  by  the  two  great 
branches  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  family.  African  commerce  must 
consequently  fall  chiefly  into  the  hands  of  these  two  great  Prot- 
estant, Christian  nations.  This  will  throw  the  destinies  of  Africa 
very  much  into  the  hands  of  these  two  nations.  An  interchange 
of  commodities  and  easy  facilities  of  intercourse  will  here  bring 
Africa  into  contact  with  the  literature,  the  science,  the  philosophy 
and  the  religion  of  England  and  America.  It  wdll,  on  the  one 
hand,  bring  poor,  bleeding  Africa  into  direct  communication  with 
the  great  heart  of  the  Protestant  Church.  It  will  open  the  chan- 
nels through  which  the  waters  of  salvation  shall  flow  over  that 
great  moral  desert  and  make  it  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

And  more  than  this :  commerce  promises  to  extinguish  for  Af- 
rica her  crudest  curse.  The  Slave-Trade  is  the  blighting  curse 
of  that  unhappy  land.  Africa  wants  the  commodities  of  other 
lands,  and  they  have  wanted  her  human  chattels  in  return.  But 
let  her  once  understand  that  her  cotton,  indigo,  cofl'ee,  sugar,  and 
the  great  variety  and  abundance  of  her  native  productions  will 
be  accepted  in  exchange  for  what  she  wants,  think  you  that  she 
will,  amidst  cruelties  direful  as  death,  make  merchandise  of  her 
soqs  and  her  daughters  ? 

With  such  tokens  for  good — with  such  facilities  and  resources 
for  successful  action,  can  we  otherwise  than  opine  no  distant,  no 
stinted  good  in  reserve  for  poor  Africa  ?  The  explorations  of  the 
last  year  and  the  unwonted  preparedness  of  the  people  of  the  in- 


THE  ATLANTIC  TELEGRAPH  CABLE.  217 

terior  to  receive  the  good  tidings  of  great  jov,  betoken  the  speedy 
approach  of  Africa's  gracious  visitation.  We  will  thank  God  and 
take  courage.  May  the  Lord  hasten  liis  work  and  bless  that  cap- 
tive race. 

VII.  The  only  other  great  event  of  the  year  which  I  shall 
notice,  is  the  laying  of  the  transatlantic  Telegraph  Cable. 
We  cannot  just  now  speak,  as  we  gladly  would,  of  the  final  suc- 
cess of  this  great  enterprise.  The  mere  fact  that  the  cable  has 
been  laid  and  communication  has  been  had  from  continent  to  con- 
tinent would  seem  honor  enough  for  one  year.  The  principle  is 
established — the  practicability  of  the  enterprise  is  no  longer  ques- 
tionable. And  now  it  only  remains  to  complete  what  has  been 
begun.  All  probably  now  needed,  in  order  to  realize  the  en- 
thusiastic hopes  of  a  few  months  ago,  is  time  and  further  experi- 
ment, the  opportunity  to  remove  difficulties  and  to  supply  defects, 
and  perhaps  the  application  of  yet  more  skill  and  enterprise. 
Though  our  rejoicings  over  the  work  as  if  complete,  were  prema- 
ture, yet  they  were  neither  premature  nor  overabundant,  as  de- 
signed to  commemorate  an  event  which  shall  undoubtedly  in  the 
future  accomplish  all,  and  more  than  its  most  sanguine  pro- 
jectors have  yet  conceived.  Though  there  be  at  present  a  lull 
in  the  loud  jubilations  of  a  few  months  ago,  and  we  are  in  danger 
of  overlooking  the  importance  of  this  great  event  of  the  year — 
though  the  eclat  of  the  event  is  less  enthusiastically  celebrated, 
its  real  importance  and  prospective  utility  are  scarcely  diminished 
by  the  mere  failure,  or  rather  the  delay  of  sending  messages  from 
one  continent  to  the  other.  The  indomitable  enterprise  and  sci- 
entific skill  which  have  already  done  so  much,  are  our  best  pos- 
sible pledge  that  they  will  not  give  over  till  they  shall  have  ac- 
complished what  they  have  begun. 

Even  should  the  whole  matter  end  here  and  what  has  been 
done  should  remain  merely  as  an  exploit  of  science  and  human 


218  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

enterprise,  never  to  be  repeated,  the  mere  fact  that,  in  the  year 
1858,  a  chain  cunningly  wrought  of  copper,  gutta-percha  and  steel 
was  stretched  across  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  that  mes- 
sages were  transmitted  along  it  instantaneously  from  the  Old 
World  to  the  New,  will  remain  a  marvel  for  all  ages.  It  will 
gather  new  lustre  as  each  generation  transmits  it  to  its  successors, 
and  may  fill,  in  the  poetic  chronicles  of  some  future  age,  or  un- 
born civilization,  a  larger  space  than  our  "  ancients"  allotted  to 
the  labors  of  Hercules  or  the  voyage  of  the  Argo. 

But  we  wait  with  confidence  the  realization  of  all  our  form- 
er hopes  of  the  final  and  complete  success  of  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph. We  do  not  believe  its  important  bearings  on  the  so- 
cial and  moral  condition  of  the  world  have  been  overrated.  It 
no  doubt  has  a  most  important  part  to  play  in  the  renovation  of 
our  world  and  the  establishment  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  the  earth. 

The  year  in  question  was  truly  a  notable  one.  It  was  crowded 
with  great  events,  each  of  which  seemed  but  the  beginning  of  a 
series  which  presages  the  speedy  revolution  of  the  world  and  the 
introduction  of  that  golden  age  for  which  we  wait.  All  are  has- 
tening on  the  great  conflict  between  truth  and  unrighteousness. 
The  whole  heathen  world  is  thrown  open  to  the  labors  of  the 
Christian  Church — the  numbers  and  resources  of  the  Church 
have  within  the  same  short  year  been  greatly  increased — ^un- 
wonted facilities  have  been  provided  for  easy  access  to  the  heathen 
world — distances  have  been  annihilated — national  alienations  been 
unexpectedly  removed,  and  they  that  were  afar  off  have  been 
brought  near.     Truth  approaches  her  triumph. 

But  we  may  not  pass  from  a  review  of  that  eventful  year  with- 
out associating  with  it  another  event,  of  later  date  indeed,  but 
which  seems  in  a  sense  to  belong  to  the  same  year.  We  refer  to 
the  *'  Great  Eastern,"  the  Mammoth  Steam  Ship.  This  seems 
but  a  prognostic,  kindred  with  the  last,  of  the  coming  auspicious 


THE    GREAT    EASTERN.  219 

age.  No  reflecting  mind  can  look  upon  this  leviathan  of  the 
deep,  comparing  it  with  the  ordinary  craft  that  lies  in  the  harbor 
about  it,  and  not  be  impressed  with  the  idea  that  it  foreshadows 
a  future  order  of  things  yet  to  be  revealed.  No  present  commerce, 
no  carrying  trade,  no  migrations  of  mankind,  no  existing  system 
of  warfare,  requires  any  such  stupendous  craft.  It  no  doubt  be- 
longs to  an  age  yet  future ;  to  an  age  of  unprecedented  enter- 
prise, of  heretofore  unknown  prosperity  and  magnificent  achieve- 
ments. 

Its  very  name  may  be  significant  of  its  future  destiny.  The 
Great  Eastern — shall  it  have  any  special  relations  to  the 
"  kings  of  the  east  ?  "  when  by  the  drying  up  of  the  waters  of 
the  Euphrates — the  gradual  decay  and  destruction  of  the  Turkish 
Empire — the  power  of  the  Moslems  shall  fall  and  the  great  ob- 
stacles to  the  restoration  to  their  land  of  the  Jews,  the  royal  priest- 
hood, the  kings  and  priests  of  God,  shall  be  prepared  ?  May  not 
this  be  a  precursor  of  the  "  ships  of  Tarshish  ?  "  which  means  by 
eminence,  a  ship  of  the  ocean,  a  palace  of  the  deep,  a  great  ship. 
These  "  ships  of  Tarshish,"  the  prophet  says,  shall  bring  "  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Israel  from  afar,  their  silver  and  their  gold 
with  them,  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel." 
And  not  only  shall  they  return  with  their  own  great  wealth,  but 
kings  shall  minister  unto  them  and  they  shall  bring  the  riches  of 
the  nations.  And  what  more  likely  than  that  extraordinary  modes 
of  conveyance  should  be  provided  for  so  extraordinary  an  occa* 
sion  ?  All  is  mere  conjecture.  Or  shall  the  ordinary  pursuits  of 
commerce,  as  in  human  progress  they  shall  enlarge,  demand  so 
extraordinary  a  mode  of  conveyance?  Be  it  enough  that  the 
heretofore  undeveloped  advancements  in  human  affairs,  whatever 
they  may  be,  shall  require  correspondingly  extraordinary  modes 
of  transit  and  conveyance. 

Truth,  I  said,  approaches  her  triumph :  yet  in  her  triumph  we 


220  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

descry  a  gathering  storm  which  shall  for  a  time  spread  "  desola- 
tions "  over  the  earth. 

This  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  royal  seer  :  "  The  heathen 
raged ;  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  were  moved ;  he  uttered  his 
voice,  the  earth  melted." 

And  then  men  and  angels  are  summoned  to  survey  the  great 
battle-field  and  behold  the  dreadful  displays  of  incensed  Omnip- 
otence on  his  enemies.  "  Come,  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord, 
what  desolations  he  hath  made  in  the  earth."  "  But,"  says  a  con- 
fiding Church,  "  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us ;  the  God  of  Jacob 
is  our  refuge."  Xhe  great  conflict  passes  over ;  the  Church  tri- 
umphs. Her  Lord  "  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  end  of  the 
earth.  He  breaketh  the  bow  and  cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder ; 
he  burneth  the  chariot  in  the  fire."  And  then  in  view  of  the  dread- 
ful desolations  which  have  covered  the  earth,  and  the  signal  dis- 
comfiture of  the  enemy,  and  the  triumphant  and  glorious  vindi- 
cation of  his  people,  heaven  and  earth  are  charged  to  bow  in 
reverential  fear  before  the  God  of  the  whole  earth,  and  to  sub- 
mit to  his  sceptre :  "  Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God :  I  will 
be  exalted  among  the  heathen  ;  I  will  be  exalted  in  the  earth." 


Vit 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  great  American  Crisis ;  or  the  Conflict  of  1861— Its  causes,  character 
and  results — The  hand  of  God  in  it. 

We  have  already  treated  of  civil  commotions,  wars  and  revo- 
lutions, as  the  sure  precursors  of  that  coming  kingdom  for  which 
we  look,  and  the  eflficient  agents  which  shall  hasten  it  on.  We 
have  seen  how  India,  China,  Italy,  and  the  Crimea  have,  each 
in  its  turn,  been  made  the  battle-field,  on  which  to  decide,  in  some 
of  its  forms,  the  great  question  of  the  age — the  question  between 
liberty  and  despotism,  between  human  freedom  and  bondage. 
The  great  centre  of  conflict  is  for  the  present  transferred  to 
America ;  and  here  the  next  great  blow  shall  be  struck  in  the 
name  of  human  freedom.  The  light  of  the  nineteenth  century ; 
the  course  of  human  events  ;  the  onward  march  of  an  irresistable 
Providence ;  the  latent  workings  of  liberty  in  the  great  mind  of 
the  whole  civilized  world;  the  pulsations  of  the  great  heart  of 
humanity,  and  the  outspoken  conviction  of  all  Christendom,  have 
decreed  that  man  shall  be  free,  and  especially  have  they  decreed 
that  man  shall  no  longer  buy  and  sell  his  brother,  and  thereby 
disown  his  manhood,  and  reduce  him  to  a  mere  chattelship. 

It  has  been  a  long  conflict  in  this  world  of  ours — an  "irrepressi- 
(221) 


222  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

ble  conflict,"  which  has  at  length  gathered  strength  and  reached 
a  crisis.  The  wise  and  patriotic  framers  of  our  Constitution  felt 
the  incongruity  of  incorporating  a  system  of  human  bondage  into 
an  instrument  which  should  stand  before  the  world  as  the  magna 
charta  of  our  liberties.  Yet,  in  the  hope  of  its  early  extinction, 
they  extended  to  it  a  present  toleration,  contemplating  it  as  an 
existing  evil,  to  be  tolerated  only  till  it  could  be  peaceably 
terminated.  Hence  the  "  compromises  of  the  Constitution."  The 
northern  portion  of  the  original  confederacy  continued  to  treat 
the  institution  of  Slavery  as  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  evi- 
dently intended  it  should  be  treated,  and  consequently  State  after 
State  gradually  terminated  the  relation  till  at  length  all  these  States 
became  free ;  and  having  tried  the  experiment,  first  of  slavery, 
and  since  of  freedom,  found  the  last  state  better  than  the  first. 
The  southern  portion  of  the  confederacy  pursued  an  opposite 
course,  and  established  and  perpetuated  slavery. 

These  two  antagonistic  elements  have  been  in  active  conflict 
(though  suppressed),  and  gathering  strength  for  more  than  four 
score  years,  and  have  now  burst  forth  into  open  hostility.  The 
one  strikes  for  freedom ;  the  other  wages  an  uncompromising  war 
for  the  extension  and  perpetuation  of  slavery.  For  a  long  time 
it  was  a  war  of  opinion,  of  the  ballot-box,  of  the  pulpit  and  the 
rostrum.  At  length  the  appeal  is  made  to  the  sword ;  and  we 
wait  in  awful  suspense  the  result.  Each  contending  party,  con- 
fidently, appeals  to  heaven  for  the  justice  of  their  cause.  We 
wait  to  see  whom  heaven  will  favor ;  whether  the  just,  the  good, 
the  merciful  God  will  smile  upon  and  bless  a  confederacy  con- 
fessedly founded  on  negro  slavery  as  its  corner-stone ;  or  whether 
by  giving  success  to  our  arms,  he  will  vindicate  our  cause  and 
establish  us  such  a  nation  as,  in  his  providence,  he  indicated  he 
would  establi.^h  in  this  Western  world. 

If  the  finger  of  Providence  ever  pointed  out  a  land  "  as  the 


TREE    OF   LIBERTY.  223 

land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave,"  it  was  the  United 
States  of  America.  Early  in  our  national  existence  was  the  tree 
of  Liberty  planted  upon  this  soil ;  and  under  its  shadow  have 
sprung  up  and  grown  all  those  civil  and  religious  institutions 
which  had  made  our  land  the  glory  and  en\y  of  all  land?.  But 
engrafted  on  this  sightly  tree  was  a  bitter  stock,  whicii  has  borne 
nought  but  a  bitter  fruit.  That  stock  was  African  slavery — per- 
mitted, as  we  said,  by  the  wise  and  patriotic  framers  of  our  Con- 
stitution, but  cordially  adopted,  cherished  and  perpetuated  by  all 
the  Southern  portion  of  our  confederacy,  until  it  threatened  to 
overtop  the  whole  tree  and  to  blast  its  entire  fruit. 

The  North,  though  slow  to  believe  and  slower  to  act,  were  at 
length  aroused  to  withstand  the  steady  determined  and  persever- 
ing encroachments  of  the  South ;  and  the  South  were  yet  more 
determinedly  aroused  for  the  defense  ef  their  darling  institution, 
and  lor  its  extension  and  nationalization.  Apprehen.-ions  for 
the  security  and  the  perpetuation  of  slavery,  arising  from  the 
more  determined  conviction  of  the  North,  and  an  equally  strong 
conviction  on  the  part  of  the  whole  civilized  world  that  every 
system  of  human  bondage  ought  to  be  done  away,  gradually  led, 
not  only  to  drawing  tighter  the  bonds  of  the  system,  and  of  adopt- 
ing a  course  of  strong  justification  of  the  system,  making  that  to 
be  a  good  which  they  once  conceded  to  be  an  evil,  but  the  same 
apprehensions,  united  with  a  strong  self-interest  and  a  feudal  pride, 
rapidly  fostered  a  sentiment  of  hostility  to  the  North. 

The  agitating  process  produced  the  general  conviction  through- 
out the  entire  South,  that  the  institution  of  slavery  was  no  longer 
secure  in  the  hands  of  men  who  recognized  neither  its  divine 
right,  nor  its  economic  or  humane  policy.  Hence  it  had  become 
a  necessity,  with  all  such  as  felt  slavery  to  be  with  them  a  neces- 
sity, that  the  administrative  power  of  our  government  should  he 
in  their  hands.     They  did  not  feel  that  their  institutions  were 


224  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

secure  in  any  other  hands.  Such  a  feeling  has  in  a  measure 
prevailed  at  the  South  from  the  beginning,  but  it  has  from  year 
to  year  gained  strength,  till  at  length  it  is  demonstrated  in  an 
open  resistance  to  the  ballot-box,  and  we  are  plunged  into  a  dire- 
ful war  because  a  fair  majority  declared  in  favor  of  a  Northern 
President.  Of  the  seventy-two  years  which  has  elapsed  from  the 
inauguration  of  George  Washington,  first  President  of  these  United 
States,  in  1789,  to  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1861 
Southern  men  had  occupied  the  Presidential  chair  fifty-two 
years.*  And  not  even  this  undue  proportion  measures  the  share 
of  governmental  power  and  patronage,  which,  in  other  respects, 
have  been  accorded  to  Southern  men.  Such  undue  balance  of 
power  in  their  own  favor  have  they  deemed  it  needful  that  they 
should  hold  in  the  halls  of  our  National  Legislature  and  in  the 
Presidential  Mansion  in  order  to  preserve  intact  and  inviolable 
the  peculiar  institutions  of  the  South. 

But  even  this  would  no  longer  do.  The  opposing  tide  from 
the  North,  backed  by  the  united  sentiment  of  the  whole  civilized 
world,  still  rolled  on.  It  seemed  to  carry  in  it  the  portentous  de- 
cree of  universal  emancipation.  And  it  must  and  it  should  be 
resisted.  And  as  no  other  government  on  earth  would  lend  its 
support  to  the  system,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
should.  Hence  the  uncompromising  determination  to  force  our 
own  government  to  a  virtual  nationalization  of  Slavery.  And 
hence  the  necessity  felt  that  the  friends  and  supporters  of  Slavery 
should  hold  the  government  of  the  country  at  their  own  control. 
Identified  as  they  have  chosen  to  make  the  institution  with  their 

*  And  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  here,  that  of  the  five  Northern  men  who  have 
occupied  the  White  House  during  the  twenty  years  in  question,  two  or  three  of  them 
were  but  "  Northern  men  with  Southern  principles,"  or  proclivities,  extending  an  unduly 
liberal  patronage  to  the  South.  Indeed  we  are  not  quite  sure  of  the  loyalty  of  any  but 
the  two  Adamses,  though  sure  that  the  last  of  these  Northern  incumbents  of  the  chair 
was  as  arch  a  traitor  as  ever  escaped  hemp. 


THE    WAR    OF    1861.  225 

very  social  and  civil  existence,  the  wielding  the  powers  of  govern- 
ment becomes  a  matter  of  life  or  death.  When,  four  years  previ- 
ous to  the  late  Presidential  election,  a  strong  apprehension  existed 
that  the  sceptre  might  pass  from  the  hands  of  the  Southern  Oli- 
garchy, there  was  a  determination  to  resist  scarcely  less  marked 
than  at  present.  Had  the  election  terminated  in  the  choice  of 
the  non-slaveholding  candidate,  war  was  then  equally  inevitable. 
Under  another  like  contingency  war  has  come — ^but  with  a  four 
years'  accumulated  vengeance. 

It  is  a  war  for  power ;  generally  for  the  love  of  powpr,  and 
because  men,  inured  to  despotic  rule  in  their  social  and  domestic 
relations,  have  a  feeling  that  they  are  the  most  suitable  if  not  the 
legitimate  rulers  of  the  nation ;  but,  specifically,  it  is  a  war  to 
secure  the  prestige  of  American  Slavery. 

It  is  a  war,  not  against  the  form  of  Republicanism,  but  against 
its  very  soul  and  spirit.  And  it  is  waged  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
surgents with  an  uncompromising  determination  and  virulence, 
and  an  unscrupulousness,  which  seem  to  proclaim  "  rule  or  ruin  " 
to  our  whole  land.  Appearances  at  present  seem  to  force  upon 
us  the  conclusion  that  the  war  shall  settle  the  long  vexed  question 
of  slavery  or  no  slavery,  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  our 
land.  There  is  indeed  a  prevailing  conviction  on  the  one  hand, 
and  a  fearful  foreboding  on  the  other,  that  the  war  now  so  fear- 
fully raging  shall  strike  the  death-blow  to  the  last  great  system 
of  human  bondage  which  now  afflicts  our  world. 

The  present  war  is  the  great  conflict  of  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-one.  With  so  wonderful  acceleration  do  events  now 
hasten  on  the  great  and  final  consummation  of  the  Divine  pur- 
poses among  men  and  nations,  that  each  revolving  year  presents 
some  great  decisive  conflict,  and  wins  some  signal  victory  for 
truth  and  righteousness.  Civil  despotism  is  overcome;  or  Papal 
Rome  is  cast  into  the  crucible  of  war  and  her  dross  burnt  out ; 
15 


226  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

or  Pagan  Idolatry  is  put  on  its  last  trial,  and  its  fate  decided  on 
the  battle-field.  And  finally,  in  the  present  war,  the  last  great 
scheme  of  human  bondage  is  summoned  to  answer  before  the 
high  tribunal  of  justice  and  humanity,  for  its  long-protracted 
and  relentless  depredations  on  human  rights  and  all  the  dearest 
interests  of  man.  Every  dictate  and  prerogative  of  Christianity 
declares  man  to  be  free.  Every  step  in  the  progress  of  the 
light  and  liberty  which  distinguishes  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  from  the  darkest  period  of  the  dark  ages, 
demands  that  man,  of  whatever  nation,  lineage  or  color,  shall 
own  in  fee-simple  both  his  body  and  his  soul.  Our  Declaration 
of  Independence  proclaims  the  right  of  every  man  to  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  and  to  all  this  the  spirit  of  our 
age  most  unhesitatingly  responds  a  long  amen. 

Our  present  conflict  is  eminently  a  war  for  human  freedom  ; 
for  Republicanism  in  the  purest  form  it  has  ever  yet  been  able 
to  exist ;  for  the  emancipation  of  man  from  the  thraldom  of  his 
fellow-man.  It  is  the  last  great  blow  struck  for  liberty.  If 
successful,  it  shall  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  open- 
ing of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound.  If  unsuccessful ;  if 
they  who  offer  to  the  world  as  a  "  model  Republic "  for  the 
times — a  Republic  founded  on  negro  slavery  as  its  corner-stone 
— shall  succeed,  then  we  are  thrown  back  into  a  barbarous  age ; 
the  tide  of  human  progress  is  arrested  and  turned  back  a 
century,  and  hopelessly  may  we  look  soon  again  to  see  the 
fair  form  of  Liberty  rise  and  attain  its  present  stately  pro- 
portions. 

And  what  would  the  nations  of  the  earth  say — those  nations, 
and  their  potentates  and  rulers,  who  have  looked  on  with  evil 
eye  and  predicted,  and  more  hoped  than  predicted,  our  downfall  ? 
Shall  they  hold  us  in  derision,  and  rejoice  over  the  downfall  of 
liberty  as  fallen  to  rise  no  more  ?     Shall  they  rejoice  over  her, 


WHAT   WE   MAY   EXPECT.  227 

and  make  merry  and  send  gifts  one  to  another,  because  she  that 
tormented  them  is  no  more  ? 

Such  being  the  cause,  and  such  the  character  of  the  war  which 
now  afflicts  our  land,  we  come  to  inquire  after  the  probable 
results — what  may  we  expect  God  will  bring  out  of  this  war  ? 

War  is  one  of  the  dread  agencies  of 'Providence,  used  more 
commonly  than  any  other  form  of  agency,  to  break  down  and 
remove  out  of  the  way  the  great  hindrances  to  human  progress. 
It  is  the  millstone  more  usually  employed  to  grind  to  powder 
the  great  systems,  organizations,  or  confederacies,  which  the 
arch  enemy  of  man  erects  as  the  stronghold  of  his  empire.  And 
we  may  expect  to  find  that  all  wars,  but  more  especially  modem 
wars,  are  more  or  less  directly  overruled  for  such  a  purpose. 
What,  then,  may  we  expect  as  the  issue  of  the  present  war  ? 

1.  We  may  expect  an  expensive  war,  possibly  a  protracted 
war,  and  certainly  a  war  that  shall  sorely  afflict  us.  As  a  nation 
we  have  grievously  sinned.  Our  pride  and  extravagance  ;  our 
Sabbath-breaking  and  intemperance ;  our  ingratitude  and  gen- 
eral forgetfulness  of  God,  and,  more  especially  perhaps  in  the 
present  case,  our  past  complicity  with  the  system  of  human 
bondage,  which  has  at  length  cried  to  heaven  for  righteous  ret- 
ribution, have  come  up  in  remembrance  before  a  righteous  God, 
and  we  must  not  think  a  strange  thing  has  happened,  if  God 
should  reward  us  according  to  our  doings.  In  all  the  afflictions 
which  an  expensive  and  bloody  war  shall  bring  upon  us,  we 
only  recognize  the  righteous  judgment  of  God.  And  we  need 
not  expect  this  war  shall  close  till  we  shall  be  thoroughly 
purged  from  our  national  and  social  sins.  God  will  turn  away 
his  wrath  from  us,  when,  having  forsaken  our  sins,  we  with 
repentance  and  contrition  turn  unto  him. 

God  hath  dealt  so  with  no  other  people.  He  hath  made  us 
his  modern  Israel — hath  seemed   to  choose  us  as  a  peculiar 


228  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

people — hath  made  his  goodness  to  pass  before  us  as  he  did  to 
his  Israel  of  old;  and  yet  in  many  respects,  more  abundantly. 
In  our  origin,  and  growth,  and  rapid  maturity,  we  most  distinctly 
discern  the  mighty  hand  of  our  God.  But  our  ingratitude  and 
forgetfulness  of  God,  and  especially  our  failure  to  stand  up 
before  the  nations  of  the  earth  as  a  model  nation,  to  exhibit  to 
them  the  beauty  and  glory  of  free  institutions — of  a  self-govern- 
ed people — a  great  moral  fountain  whose  fertilizing  streams 
should  go  out  to  bless  a  desert  world ;  these  and  a  long  list  of 
our  national  sins,  have  provoked  our  Lord  and  King  to  subject 
us  to  his  chastening  hand.  But  he  has  not  cast  us  off.  If  we 
turn  unto  him  he  will  turn  unto  us,  and  again  make  his  face  to 
shine  upon  us.  He  will  not  cast  off  his  people,  nor  give  up  the 
heritage,  which  he  has  cherished  and  watched  over  with  such 
parental  tenderness  and  care,  to  spoiling  and  final  desolation. 
Yet  he  may  afflict  us  still  more  severely  ;  for  deeply  indeed 
have  we  been  compromised  in  the  sin  that  now  makes  us  mourn. 
Our  statesmen,  our  army  and  navy,  our  ships  and  capital,  have 
all  done  homage  to  the  great  Moloch  of  our  nation ;  and  now 
we  are  made  to  participate  in  the  awful  retribution  that  has 
overtaken  us.  We  are  made  to  drink  to  the  dregs  the  bitter 
cup  we  had  mingled  with  our  hands.  This  we  may  expect  as 
the  first  and  most  obvious  result  of  our  present  conflict.  And 
we  may  be  yet  more  sorely  afflicted.  But  though  cast  down 
and  sorely  chastened,  we  shall  not  be  destroyed.     For, 

2.  We  may  expect  a  final  victory.  Yet  this  expectation  we 
do  not  predicate  on  the  fact  that,  in  money  and  men,  and  in  all 
the  munitions  and  resources  of  war,  we  have  the  advantage  of 
our  enemy,  but  on  the  confidence  that,  with  all  our  sins  and  ill- 
deserts,  God  is  on  our  side.  They  that  have  risen  up  against 
us,  fight  that  they  may,  without  let  or  hindrance,  bind  the  yoke 
on  the  oppressed  and  never  let  them  go  free.     We,  on  the  other 


ENCOURAGEMENT.  229 

hand,  have  raised  the  banner  of  freedom.  It  is  a  strike  for 
liberty  and  the  institutions  of  our  Puritan  fathers ;  and  our 
confidence  is  that,  however  dark  the  cloud  that  overcasts  our 
hemisphere  may  be — however  fierce  the  assaults  by  which  these 
dearest  interests  may  be  assailed,  they  can  never  be  destroyed. 
They  are  interests  dear  to  humanity — dear  to  God.  And  what- 
ever checks  or  seeming  retrogressions  may,  from  time  to  time, 
betide,  God  and  humanity  will  be  sure  to  vindicate  these  in- 
terests. They  are  vital  to  human  progress — essential  to  the 
carrying  out  of  the  gracious  purposes  of  heaven  towards  our 
degenerate  world. 

We  have  only  to  cleave  to  these  interests,  and  heaven  is 
surely  on  our  side  and  we  cannot  fail. 

A  brief  retrospect  of  our  past  providential  history  is  full  of 
encouragement  here.  The  time  of  the  first  settlement  of  this 
country  ;  the  character  of  the  early  settlers ;  the  peculiar  train- 
ing they  had  for  their  mission  in  the  new  world ;  the  peculiar 
institutions  which  they  brought  with  them  and  established  here ; 
the  peculiar  prosperity  which  has  attended  these  institutions ; 
the  great  success  and  efficiency  which  has  here  been  given  to 
the  Puritanical  element  and  AtoJ^o-Saxon  type  of  our  people ; — 
these  are  some  of  the  features  in  our  history  which  encourage 
the  hope,  and  give  unfailing  confidence  that,  however  sorely  we 
may  first  be  scourged  for  our  sins,  we  shall  not  be  overcome  or 
destroyed.  We  are  sure  that  heaven  is  on  the  side  of  the 
principles  and  institutions  which  brought  our  fathers  to  this 
land,  and  which  have  had  the  smiles  of  heaven  from  the 
beginning  of  our  national  existence.  And  we  cannot  for  a 
moment  entertain  a  doubt  that  what  has  been  so  propitiously 
begun  and  so  fai*  prosperously  conducted,  shall  go  on  to  its  glo- 
rious completion.  Progress  is  the  law  of  Heaven ;  and  strange 
indeed  would  it  be  if  the  wheels  are  now  to  be  stopped  and 


230  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

rolled  back  into  the  dark  ages ;  if  the  great,  the  modern  idea  of 
self-government  is  to  be  exploded ;  Republicanism  to  prove  a 
myth ;  feudalism  to  be  restored  and  perpetuated ;  the  African 
slave-trade  reopened  in  all  the  horrors  of  that  odious  traffic,  and 
men  again  barter  in  the  souls  and  bodies  of  their  fellow-men  :— r- 
if  such  things  are  to  be ;  if  such  a  melancholy  retrogression  is 
to  blight  and  turn  back  all  that  modern  enterprise  and  improve- 
ment have  done,  and  all  that  the  most  sanguine  friends  of 
progress  have  predicted  and  hoped  for,  then  may  we  expect 
failure  in  our  present  struggle.  Our  confidence  of  final  victory 
is  predicated  on  the  assurance  we  feel  that  God  is  just,  and 
therefore  will  not  allow  oppression  to  riot  forever ;  that  God  is 
the  friend  of  freedom,  of  light,  of  progress,  and  therefore  he 
will  not  retrace  his  stately  steppings,  and  allow  the  sad  retro- 
gression which  the  triumphing  of  our  enemies  would  entail  on 
the  world  for  ages  to  come. 

That  we  have  formed  a  just  estimate  of  the  feelings  of  the 
South  on  the  subject  of  social  and  civil  freedom ;  that  such  are 
their  prevailing  sentiments,  and  such  their  determination  and 
real  design  in  waging  a  ruthless  war  against  us,  and  such  our 
hopes  or  fears  in  victory  or  defeat — at  least  that  the  views  above 
expressed  harmonize  with  those  of  persons  who  have  had  ample 
opportunities  to  form  a  just  judgment,  we  take  the  liberty  to 
transcribe  a  paragraph  or  two,  from  a  writer  w^ho  seems  to  know 
whereof  he  affirms,  and  who  affirms  what  tallies  but  too  well 
with  what  we  know  from  a  great  variety  of  other  sources.  The 
article  from  which  we  copy  is  entitled  "  The  Spirit  of  the 
South,"  and  headed  with  a  sentence  from  a  Southern  paper,  in 
these  words : 

■'  *  We  claim  to  be  the  superiors  of  the  Northmen  in  every  respect,  and 
we  are.' — Augusta  {Ga.)  Chronicle  and  Sentinel,  Aug.  18. 


FEELINGS    OF    THE    SOUTH.  231 

"  Allow  an  old  subscriber  to  your  paper,  and  a  son  of  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  to  state  two  reminiscences  that  came 
under  his  own  observation,  for  the  consideration  of  those  who 
are  aiding  the  insurgents  in  this  wicked  rebellion  by  their  cry 
for  '  peace  ! ' 

"•  In  the  fall  of  1839,  twenty-two  years  ago,  the  writer  returned 
to  this  country  from  Europe.  During  his  residence  abroad,  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  several  gentlemen  from  the  South. 
Soon  after  his  return  to  America,  he  was  present  at  a  large 
dinner  party  which  was  composed  almost  altogether  of  Southern 
gentlemen,  many  of  whom,  at  the  time,  were  high  in  office  under 
the  General  Government.  The  conversation  was  mostly  on 
Southern  men  and  Southern  matters ; .  and,  after  a  circulation 
of  the  wine,  the  conversation  became  quite  free  and  outspoken, 
and  made  such  an  impression  on  my  Northern  ears,  that  its 
nature  has  been  distinctly  remembered  ever  since.  It  was  on 
the  subject  of  the  government  of  our  country,  and  on  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Southern  over  the  Northern  people!  It  was 
emphatically  declared  by  these  gentlemen,  that  '  no  man  born 
north  of  Mason's  and  Dixon's  line '  should  ever  have  any  thing 
to  do  with  the  government  of  the  United  States  ;  or  should  hold, 
under  governnient,  any  office  of  trust  or  importance.  And  it 
was  as  emphatically  declared  that  an  arrangement  would  be 
brouglit  about,  sooner  or  later,  w^lien  the  entire  government  of 
these  United  States  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  men  of  the 
South — as  they  only  were  the  race  par  excellence  fitted  to 
govern  the  nation  !  They  claimed  then,  as  now,  *  to  be  the 
superiors  of  the  Northmen  in  every  respect,'  and  that  the  people 
of  the  North  must,  and  should  be,  under  the  dominion  of  the 
men  of  the  South ! 

"  The  other  reminiscence  is  of  more  recent  date.  Twenty-one 
years  later — in  August,  1860— the  writer  met,  at   the  White 


232  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Sulphur  Springs,  in  Virginia,  several  hundred  of  the  very  men, 
many  of  whom  are  now  among  the  leaders,  and  who  were  the 
fomenters  of  this  wicked  rebellion.  There  were  present  some 
of  the  leading  men  from  every  one  of  the  Slave  States.  Their 
meeting  at  this  time  was  for  the  purpose  of  planning  this  rebel- 
lion ;  and  they  were  then  as  much  determined  on  breaking  up 
the  Union  as  they  have  ever  been  at  any  time  since.  The 
writer  knew  personally  many  of  these  men,  and  the  declaration 
was  made  to  him  repeatedly,  that  if  the  '  Black  Republicans 
should  elect  any  man  as  President,  the  Union  would  be  dissolv- 
ed.* Governor  Letcher,  of  Virginia,  was  there,  and  on  that 
occasion  reviewed  the  first  volunteer  company  which  was  formed 
at  Richmond,  and,  in  addressing  this  company  of  F.  F.  V.'s,  the 
writer  heard  him  make  this  declaration :  '  You,  young  gentle- 
men, are  the  nucleus  of  five  hundred  thousand  Southern  men, 
who  will  yet  be  called  together  to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  Black 
Republicans  of  the  North !  * 

"  These  statements  are  given  to  show  what  we  have  long 
believed  to  be  true — that  the  plotters  in  the  present  outrageous 
rebellion  have  been  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  matur- 
ing their  plans  to  destroy  this  government ;  and  that,  during  this 
time,  they  have  never  for  one  moment  intended,  nor  do  they  now 
intend,  to  listen  to  any  terms  of  '  peace '  or  of  *  compromise,' 
short  of  the  entire  subjugation  of  the  North  to  their  will !  No, 
gentlemen  of  the  *  white  feather*  *  peace  *  negotiators !  Know, 
assuredly,  that  one  of  two  conditions  must  take  place  in  our 
country — the  North  must  conquer  the  South,  the  rebellion  must 
he  '  crushed  out ; '  or,  we  and  our  children  must  take  our  position 
only  one  degree  above  the  slave,  and  he  prepared  to  hoe  the  corn 
of  our  masters  ! 

"  A  Son  of  One  of  the  Soldiers  of  the  Revolution." 


REPUBLICANISM    ON   ITS    TRIAL.  233 

Because  we  believe  God  is  the  friend  and  abettor  of  liberty, 
the  friend  and  avenger  of  the  oppressed ;  because  we  believe 
he  will  finish  in  our  country  the  work  he  so  nobly  begun,  and 
which,  without  let  or  hindrance,  he  has  thus  far  so  effectively 
carried  on  up  to  the  present  day,  we  believe  the  final  victory 
shall  be  ours. 

3.  We  expect  as  another  issue  of  the  present  war,  the  final 
triumph  of  free  principles — a  signal  vindication  of  Republican- 
ism— and  the  unloosing  of  every  yoke  and  letting  the  captives 
go  free. 

Republicanism  is  now  on  its  trial.  The  lovers  of  liberty  the 
world  over — all  who  expect  that  such  a  boon  shall  yet  be  the 
inheritance  of  man,  and  that  the  nations  that  have  heretofore  sat 
in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  civil  despotism,  and  sighed  for 
deliverance,  shall  see  light — and  all,  wherever  found,  who  hope 
yet  to  taste  the  sweets  of  freedom  and  to  repose  under  the 
shadow  of  her  wings,  look  on,  with  irrepressible  anxiety,  to  see 
how  the  battle  will  go  with  us.  Shall  we  succeed  and  liberty 
triumph ;  or  shall  the  rising  hope  of  millions  set  in  darkness  to 
rise  no  more  ?  Must  they  yield  in  despair  that  such  an  heritage 
shall  ever  be  realized  on  the  earth  ?  The  war  now  so  fiercely 
waged,  is  as  truly  a  deadly  blow  aimed  against  civil  liberty,  as 
it  is  against  the  personal  liberty  of  the  four  millions  of  colored 
men  already  held  in  bondage.  And  as  the  American  Republic 
has  stood  before  the  world  as  neai'ly  the  sole  representative  of 
civil  liberty,  we  may  expect  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  regard 
our  success  or  failure  in  the  present  conflict  as  decisive  of  the  fate 
of  liberty  for  years  to  come,  and  perhaps  forever.  If  self-gov- 
ernment cannot  be  maintained  under  the  favoring  auspices  of  its 
present  existence,  we  should  seem  to  look  in  vain  for  it  else- 
where. 

But  who  for  a  moment  will  believe  that   a  retrogression  in 


234  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

human  affairs  so  disastrous  and  disheartening  as  the  one  imphed 
in  our  failure  in  the  present  struggle,  awaits  our  world?  Most 
wistfully  do  the  friends  of  freedom  throughout  the  world,  now 
hope  for  and  expect  a  signal  triumph  of  free  principles — a  mani- 
fest vindication  of  civil  liberty. 

And  not  only  this ;  but  there  is  an  equally  confident  expecta- 
tion that  the  present  war  shall  not  end  but  in  the  entire  eman- 
cipation of  our  whole  enslaved  population.  Though  not  entered 
upon  by  our  government  with  such  an  intent,  and  though  there 
be  still  the  greatest  reluctance  on  the  part  of  both  the  govern- 
ment and  people  of  the  North  to  make  the  war  a  war  of  eman- 
cipation, yet  the  conviction  is  every  where  and  every  day 
strangely  gathering  strength  that  it  will  be  so ;  that  it  must  be 
so ;  that  heaven  has  decreed  it,  therefore  it  must  be  so.  In  every 
form  and  mode,  unmistakable  utterance  is  given  to  the  feeling 
that  the  day  of  redemption  to  our  captives  draws  nigh ;  the  year 
of  Jubilee  is  at  hand.  Thousands  who  were  silent  a  few  weeks 
since,  now  give  unequivocal  expression  to  the  sentiment  in 
question.  A  writer  this  very  day,  signing  himself  "  A  Veteran 
Observer,"  may  be  taken  as  a  representative  of  the  sentiment. 
"  We  may  dodge  the  point,"  he  says,  "  as  much  as  we  can,  but 
slavery  is  the  cause  of  the  war,  and  the  war  will  be  the  com- 
mencement  de  la  fin  to  slavery.  The  time  has  come  when  the 
problem  of  the  day,  beyond  all  others,  will  be  :  '  What  shall  we 
do  with  the  negro?'  Any  general,  senator  or  editor  who  tells 
you  this  is  not  the  case,  may  be  written  down  either  a  blockhead 
or  a  hypocrite." 

That  the  war  on  the  part  of  our  assailants  means  the  defense, 
the  sure  establishment  and  the  perpetuation  of  Slavery  in  our 
land,  and  the  no  distant  reopening  of  the  slave-trade,  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  and  consequently  success  on  their  part,  means  the 
compassing  of  those  ends.     And  so,  we  believe  success  on  our 


HOW  THE  ENGLISH  PEOPLE  FEEL.         235 

part  will  finally  mean  universal  emancipation  ;  and  consequently 
the  utter  and  final  extinguishment  of  that  odious  trafiic.  The 
mighty  of  God  shall  do  it. 

To  show  that  we  have  not  mistaken  the  designs  of  our  Enemy 
in  this  conflict — at  least  that  we  are  by  no  means  alone  in  enter- 
taining such  convictions,  we  may  quote  the  opinions  of  others. 
An  intelligent  observer  of  the  great  events  now  transpiring  in 
our  nation  says : 

"  To  a  looker  on,  in  the  extreme  South,  this  rebellion  has  so 
many  curious  phases,  it  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  inquir- 
ing mind  to  analyze  the  mutiny  in  all  of  its  forms,  throughout  the 
Southern  States. 

"It  is,  doubtless,  a  well  understood  fact,  that  the  perpetuation 
of  Slavery,  and  the  revival  of  the  slave-trade,  were  the  chief  in- 
centives to  this  unholy  revolt  against  the  laws  of  civilization.  It 
is  a  fact  easily  susceptible  of  proof,  that  with  the  first  outbreak 
of  this  revolt,  the  slave-trade  was  reopened.  Aye,  notwitlistand- 
ing  the  cunningly  devised  clause  in  the  rebel  constitution — de- 
vised for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  Europe — notwithstanding  that 
clause,  the  slave-trade  was  reopened,  by  the  equipment  of  many 
vessels  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  some  of  which,  it  is  believed,  have 
landed  cargoes  on  the  Southern  coast,  recently.'* 

Or  would  we  know  how  the  great  philanthropic  heart  of  Eng- 
land pulsates  on  this  subject — not  how  the  aristocracy,  or  the 
cotton-spinning  oligarchy,  or  the  govej-nment  feel,  but  how  the 
mass  of  the  people  feel — what  the  popular  voice  of  philanthro- 
pists and  Christians  is,  we  may  quote  a  paragraph  from  the  British 
Standard,  of  London.  While  the  editor  doubts  our  ability  to 
cope  with  the  South  in  arms,  he  does  not  conceal  his  horror  of 
an  empire  founded  on  slavery.  The  reader  will  see  that  "  he 
grows  quite  sulphury  over  the  fate  which  he  thinks  the  chief  con- 
spirator richly  merits." 


236  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

We  quote  the  following  rather  to  show  that  the  heart  and  con- 
science of  modern  Philanthropy,  and  the  living  spirit  of  Reform, 
have  decreed  the  downfall  of  the  last  great  system  of  human  servi- 
tude which  yet  mars  the  fair  face  of  modern  civilization.  If  the 
language  is  caustic  it  is  not  the  less  emphatic.    The  Standard  says : 

"  Let  none  of  our  friends  think  that  in  thus  speaking  (express- 
ing a  fear  that  the  Government  cannot  put  down  the  rebellion), 
the  wdsh  is  father  to  the  thought ;  nothing  can  be  more  contrary 
to  the  fact.  Our  aversion  to  the  Rebels,  their  cause,  and  their 
object,  is  intense,  extreme,  unutterable.  They  have  avowed  their 
purpose,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  to  found  an  Empire  upon  Slavery. 
Ten  thousand  execrations  on  the  hideous  project !  The  thing  is 
of  Hell,  and  worthy  of  its  origin !  We  hold  President  Davis  to 
be  vicegerent  of  Beelzebub !  If  he  succeed  in  his  unholy  enter- 
prise. Slavery  may  exist  for  centuries  in  the  States  of  the  South  ; 
and  not  only  so,  but  overrun  the  entire  territory  of  South  America, 
after  the  way  shall  have  been  cleared  for  it  by  the  sword.  Slave- 
breeding  will  go  on  as  now,  but  that  will  not  suffice ;  and  to  meet 
the  necessities  of  the  Satanic  Confederation,  the  slave-trade  will 
once  more  be  reopened  with  all  its  horrors  in  Africa,  on  the  JVIiddle 
Passage,  and  in  the  New  World ! 

"  These  are  the  grounds  on  which  we  deprecate  the  success  of 
the  Rebel  arms,  and  invoke  defeat,  confusion  and  destruction  on 
the  Rebel  Chief,  his  Congress,  and  his  Army,  while  we  pray  and 
agonize  for  universal  triumph  to  President  Lincoln. 

"  Such  are  our  desires  ;  but,  alas  !  fear  preponderates  over  hope. 
Our  sole  remaining  consolation  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  Lord 
God  Omnipotent  reigneth !  In  season  due,  He  will  avenge  the 
oppressed  and  break  in  pieces  the  oppressor." 

And  not  only  at  home  and  abroad  has  a  strong  impression 
possessed  the  mind  of  the  friends  of  freedom  that  the  day  of 
general  emancipation  is  at  hand — that  the  present  war  shall  secure 


FURTHER    EXPECTATIONS.  237 

a  consummation  so  devoutly  to  be  wished ;  and  are  we  mistaken 
in  our  belief  that  there  is  also,  throughout  the  dark  domains  of 
Slavery  itself,  the  same  longing  hope  and  confident  expectation 
that  the  tocsin  of  freedom  shall  soon  be  heard  through  all  their 
fields  and  cabins,  and  the  long  oppressed  tribes  shall  rejoice  that 
the  day  of  their  redemption  has  at  length  come  ? 

How  these  tilings  shall  be  we  may  not  be  prepared  to  explain ; 
but  that  such  is  the  purpose  of  God  in  the  war,  and  that  such 
shall  be  the  result  to  the  slave,  we  can  entertain  little  doubt. 
Whatever  disasters  may  first  betide  and  try  our  fiaith,  and  humble 
our  pride,  and  rebuke  our  extravagance  and  self-dependence  and 
boasting,  we  fully  believe  the  issue  of  the  war  will  be  such  as 
abundantly  to  vindicate,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  the  strength, 
stability  and  superiority  of  our  free  institutions,  and  to  proclaim 
a  year  of  Jubilee  to  all  that  are  still  bound. 

4.  And  yet  more  than  this  do  we  expect  as  an  issue  of  the 
war.  We  look  that  it  shall  inaugurate  a  new  era  of  development 
in  connection  with  the  whole  Africa  race.  The  enslavement  and 
general  debasement  of  that  race  is  one  of  the  great  facts  of  history. 
Great  results  have  already  been  brought  out  of  it.  And  what 
has  been  is,  probably,  but  the  beginning  of  the  end.  God*s  de- 
signs are  but  beginning  to  be  developed  in  connection  with  that 
race.  So  important  an  item,  as  their  singular  transfer  to,  and 
their  long  bondage  in  America,  cannot  but  have  a  connection 
with  their  future  history  of  stupendous  interest.  What  it  shall 
be  we  can  scarcely  more  than  conjecture.  The  shrewd  observer 
of  human  affairs  3,300  years  ago,  might  have  predicted  with  some 
degree  of  certainty,  from  the  peculiar  dealings  of  Providence  in 
conveying  the  children  of  Israel  into  Egypt,  subjecting  them  to 
bondage  there,  giving  them  the  peculiar  training  and  experience 
which  they  were  made  there  to  acquire ;  from  the  deliverances 
he  wrought  for  them  in  the  land  of  Ham,  and  the  judgments  he 


238  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

inflicted  on  their  enemies  and  oppressors ;  from  these  things  it 
might  have  been  predicted  that  the  future  history  of  that  people 
would  be  signalized  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  their  singular 
training.  This  is  precisely  what  we  expect,  at  least  of  that  por- 
tion of  the  African  race  which  has  served  in  "  durance  vile  "  in 
America.  Their  bondage  here  has  been  their  school-master,  to 
train  theni  for  the  position  they  are  yet  to  occupy  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth — for  their  nationality  wherever  that  shall  be ;  and 
to  train  them  for  the  Church  and  the  peculiar  type  of  Christianity 
and  civilization  which  they  are  to  illustrate.  No  people  of  the 
present  day  present  a  more  interesting  study  for  the  philosophic 
historian,  and  none  present  a  more  interesting  field  for  honest 
conjecture. 

The  providential  history  of  the  children  of  Ham  has,  from 
the  first,  been  a  very  singular  one.  God  in  the  beginning  chose 
the  seed  of  Shem  as  the  favored  race,  where  he  would  choose 
his  Church  and  place  his  name,  and  whom  he  would  first  use  as 
his  instruments  in  carrying  out  his  purpose  on  the  earth,  and 
through  whom  religion,  and  civilization,  and  all  human  progress 
should  have  their  first  development.  The  Patriarchal  and 
Mosaic  dispensations  were  confined  very  much  to  the  race  of 
Shem.  And  Christ  came  of  the  same  race.  But  with  the 
fading  away  of  the  glory  of  the  Jewish  Church  and  nation,  and 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  world,  the  sceptre 
passed  from  the  descendants  of  Shem  to  those  of  Japhet,  and 
it  is  through  this  race  that,  for  nearly  two  thousand  years, 
religion  and  liberty,  intelligence  and  human  progress  in  general, 
have,  from  generation  to  generation,  grown  and  matured.  And 
poor  Ham  has,  all  these  long  centuries,"  been  made  the  servant 
of  servants.  Abused,  debased  and  made  the  prey  of  the  worst 
passions  of  man,  he  has  sorely  suffered  the  malediction  of 
heaven,  doubly  intensified  by  the  malediction  of  man. 


RELIGIOUS    INSTINCT    OF   THE    NEGRO.  239 

The  descendants  of  Ham,  as  represented  by  present  African 
races,  have  seemed,  in  the  great  army  of  the  King,  to  be  kept 
as  a  reserved  corps.  No  conspicuous  part  have  they  yet  taken 
on  the  great  battle-field  of  human  advancement.  Ever  and  anon 
has  African  intellect,  or  skill  or  bravery,  risen  above  the  low 
lever  of  African  degradation,  towering  aloft  and  yielding  in 
eminence  to  the  capabilities  of  no  other  race — just  enough  to 
vindicate  to  the  world  their  real,  though  for  the  most  part  latent 
capabilities,  but  not  enough  to  serve  their  turn  in  the  great  mis- 
sion of  life. 

The  query  now  is,  shall  not  the  reserve  yet  be  brought  up — 
brought  upon  the  gi-eat  field  of  human  activity,  and  act  a  part 
in  the  last  great  drama  ? — a  part  not  the  less  conspicuous,  not  the 
less  eflective  and  honorable  in  the  eyes  of  the  great  Captain  and 
of  the  world,  than  his  elder  brethren  have  acted.  We  think  so ; 
and  we  think  we  need  not  be  careful  to  give  but  a  single  reason 
for  such  a  belief  And  that  reason  is,  that  God  is  unfailingly 
and  forever  the  friend  of  the  oppressed.  On  no  other  principle 
of  the  Divine  government  can  we  rely  with  a  positive  certainty. 
He  wiil  take  the  part  of  the  down-trodden  and  oppressed,  and 
break  the  arm  of  the  oppressor.  Yet  were  we  to  assign  another 
reason,  it  would  be  the  peculiar  susceptibilities  of  African  races, 
of  a  higher  type  of  Christianity,  and,  perhaps,  of  civilization  than 
the  world  has  yet  witnessed. 

The  religious  instinct  of  the  Negro  is  every  where  remarkable. 
He  seizes  the  good  seed  of  the  word  with  an  avidity  common  to 
no  other  race  ;  and  his  rude  soul  offers  a  ready  soil  to  its  accept- 
ance. As  in  coming  ages  the  spirituality  of  our  Religion  shall 
become  yet  more  developed,  the  negro  races,  if  we  mistake  not, 
will  be  found  the  happiest  mediums  of  its  exhibition.  Their 
moral  susceptibilities,  or  their  susceptibilities  of  exemplifying  the 
purely  moral   elements  of  our  Religion,  seem  quite  peculiar  to 


240  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

themselves.  There  is,  in  the  religion  of  the  negro,  a  simplicity, 
a  pathos,  an  absorption,  a  lifting  up  of  the  soul  to  God,  a  bring- 
ing of  heaven  and  earth  to  meet,  which  we  discover  in  the 
religion  of  no  other  people.  They  will  understand  what  I  mean 
better  than  I  have  been  able  to  express  it,  who  have  had  the 
privilege  to  join  in  their  worship,  and  especially  to  lift  the  heart 
in  the  sacred  song,  in  some  colored  church  at  the  South.  Such 
a  scene  not  only  illustrates  the  point  in  question — the  suscepti- 
bilities of  the  negro  for  a  higher  order  of  spiritual  worship,  and 
a  religion  of  a  type  better  suited  to  that  future  and  higher  con- 
dition of  Christianity  which  we  hope  and  pray  for — but  it  brings 
to  our  minds  a  delightful  evidence  of  the  great  condescending 
love  of  Grod,  in  vouchsafing  to  them  so  richly  of  heaven's  treas- 
ures, as  a  compensation,  to  the  lowly  and  humble,  to  the  outcast 
and  down-trodden. 

But  it  was  to  the  other  reason  that  we  gave  the  precedence. 
The  first  and  the  chief  ground  of  hope  we  find  is  in  the  long, 
low  and  extreme  oppression  of  the  African.  Herein  they  have 
the  unfailing  promise  of  God,  the  guarantee  of  heaven,  that  the 
down-trodden  shall  yet  sit  in  the  high  places  of  the  earth.  God 
will  surely  lift  up  the  heads  that  hang  down  ;  "  give  them  rule 
over  them  that  hated  them,"  and  "  reward  them  double "  for  all 
the  dishonor  which  has  been  put  upon  them.  God  will  surely 
take  the  part  of  the  oppressed,  and  put  to  shame  the  pride  of  the 
oppressor. 

5.  There  is  a  wide-spread  conviction  in  the  minds  of  reflecting 
people  in  all  parts  of  our  land,  that  the  present  war  shall  prove 
a  gi'eat  moral  agency  for  the  advancement  of  the  higher  interests 
of  our  nation — the  interests  of  the  Church  and  of  a  pure  Religion. 
We  have  great  confidence  in  these  presentiments,  or  general  ex- 
pectations among  men.  They  seem  but  the  foreshadowing  of  the 
things  which  are  about  to  transpire.     It  is  a  revelation  from  on 


PRESENTIMENTS    AND    EXPECTATIONS.  241 

high,  an  inspiration  of  the  Almighty,  which,  in  a  way  we  cannot 
account  for,  takes  possession  of  the  mind  and  creates  a  coniSdent 
expectation  of  the  cpming  event.  Such  a  feeling  in  relation  to 
the  moral  results  which  shall  follow  the  present  war  is  already 
finding  expression  in  every  part  of  our  land.  We  may  take  the 
following  as  examples  of  such  a  persuasion,  or  presentiment. 
Writing  from  Ohio,  one  says  : 

"  It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  Christians  almost  universally  ex- 
press the  conviction,  that  God  is  about  to  work  a  great  work  in 
our  land,  for  the  vindication  of  his  power  and  the  advancement 
of  Christ's  kingdom.  There  is  no  complaint,  no  murmuring  at 
the  stagnation  of  business  and  the  hard  times,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, a  quiet  disposition  to  *  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of 
God.' 

"  When  I  remember  what  blessings  have  followed  some  of  the 
most  grievous  chastisements  with  which  God  has  afiiicted  his 
people,  I  cannot  but  hope  that,  notwithstanding  the  portentous 
appearances,  God  has  great  things  in  store  for  his  people.  If 
the  Church  of  Christ  shall  be  found  in  her  lot  and  place,  near 
the  mercy-seat,  I  cannot  but  hope  that,  although  the  heavens 
blacken,  the  thunder  mutters  and  the  lightnings  flash,  yet,  in  due 
time  the  rain — ^the  refreshing  rain  of  righteousness — will  fall." 

Another,  writing  from  Pennsylvania,  utters  a  similar  senti- 
ment, in  expressions  like  these  : 

"  This  war  is  but  the  work  of  the  Lord.  He  has  this  nation 
in  the  crucible  of  affliction,  to  burn  up  the  dross.  If  I  was  ever 
thankful  for  any  thing,  it  is  for  this ;  and  my  prayer  is,  that  the 
fires  may  not  cease  to  burn  until  the  gold  of  this  nation  shine  in 
righteousness,  clear  and  bright,  reflecting  the  image  of  our 
Saviour.  I  am  willing  to  suffer  with  the  people  all  that  may 
be  necessary  to  this  end.  Nay,  it  would  be  a  pleasure,  if  it  were 
necessary,  for  me  to  pour  out  my  blood,  with  our  noble  EUs- 
16 


242  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

worth,  to  sustain  our  government,  and  our  much  loved  country. 
I  do  hope  our  government  will  not  draw  back — I  believe  it  will 
not.     God  is  in  this  work." 

We  await  the  issue  with  a  solemn  awe,  and  yet  with  a  confi- 
dent hope.  The  cloud  through  which  we  are  passing  may 
become  yet  darker.  The  thunders  may  roll  and  the  lightnings 
play  yet  more  terrifically,  yet  our  confidence  wavers  not;  the 
end  shall  be  well.  It  is  but  another  of  those  great  and  terrific 
moral  earthquakes  which  ever  and  anon  shake  terribly  the 
earth.  It  is  a  thunder-storm  which  for  the  moment  shrouds 
the  earth  in  darkness  and  portends  only  desolation ;  but  as  the 
storm  soon  passes  away  and  the  sun  reappears  with  healing  in 
his  beams,  and  the  earth  smiles  with  new  beauty  and  fertility, 
so,  in  like  manner,  we  contemplate  the  passing  away  of  the 
present  fearful  crisis.  It  is  one  of  the  last  mighty  strides  of 
Providence  towards  the  goal  of  humanity's  final  and  high 
destiny. 

A  few  more  such  strides,  a  few  more  such  terrific  struggles 
and  travail-pains  among  the  nations  ;  a  few  more  such  convul- 
sions and  revolutions,  that  shall  break  to  pieces  and  destroy 
what  remains  of  the  inveterate  and  time-honored  systems  and 
confederations  of  sin  and  Satan,  and  the  friends  of  freedom  may 
then  lift  up  their  heads  and  rejoice,  for  their  redemption  draweth 
nigh.     The  day  of  vengeance  has  always  preceded  and 

BEEN  preparatory  TO  THE  YEAR  OP  THE  REDEEMED. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Scripture  view ;  or  several  Scripture  representations  of  the  Great 

Conflict. 

Having  in  previous  chapters  shown  that  the  characteristics  of 
our  age  indicate  the  no  distant  approach  of  the  final  and  universal 
triumph  of  the  Church,  preceded  by  a  great  and  terrible  conflict, 
it  remains  now,  that,  in  confirmation  of  the  foregoing  views,  we 
should  present  the  Scripture  argument ;  and  also  the  argument 
derived  from  the  analogy  of  the  Divine  mode  of  working. 

The  Scripture  view  of  our  subject  will  occupy  our  present 
chapter. 

Were  we  to  divide  the  eventful  history  of  our  race  into  but 
three  grand  periods,  iho,  first  should  reach  from  the  fall  of  man 
to  the  establishment  of  Christ's  reign  on  earth,  of  a  thousand 
years.  This  is  the  empire  of  sin.  The  second  should  be  the 
'*  thousand  year's  reign,"  the  conflict  still  going  on,  yet  righteous- 
ness, during  this  indefinitely  long  period,  being  in  the  ascendant. 
The  third,  after  a  short  interval  in  which  Satan  shall  be  loosed 
for  a  little  season,  shall  be  the  final,  complete  and  eternal  triumph 
of  righteousness,  and  the  final  and  everlasting  overthrow  of  sin. 

It  is  the  closing  scenes  of  the  first  of  these  periods  that  now 
claims  our  attention.     And  if,  as  I  have  endeavored  to  show,  the 

(243) 


244  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

events  of  our  times  seem  to  identify  them  with  the  period  in 
question,  it  invests  them  with  a  new  interest. 

We  are  not,  however,  ignorant  that  it  is  a  favorite  theory  with 
some  that  the  Millennial  morn  has  already  dawned,  and  that  its 
consummation  will  be  no  more  than  a  continuation  and  increase 
of  what  we  already  experience.  I  see  gleams  of  light  streaking 
the  eastern  horizon,  which  no  doubt  are  the  sure  harbingers  of 
the  day  soon  to  burst  upon  us  in  all  its  glory.  Yet  I  see  a  dark 
and  threatening  cloud  gathering.  It  increases  and  spreads  itself 
athwart  the  whole  horizon,  and  soon  will  obscure  the  rising  light. 
Though  it  may  obscure  it  for  a  little  time,  it  cannot  extinguish 
it.  It  shall  burst  through  that  cloud,  and,  scattering  the  darkness, 
reveal  a  glorious  day.  Everywhere  do  the  sacred  writers  couple 
the  "  year  of  the  redeemed  "  with  the  "  day  of  vengeance  of  our 
God."  When  ye  shall  see  "  these  things  "  (tribulations  and  con- 
flicts, sore  as  death),  then  "  lift  up  your  heads,  ye  saints,  for 
your  redemption  is  nigh." 

I  shall  call  attention,  first,  to  a  class  of  scriptures  which  describe 
the  "  great  battle  "  of  Gog  and  Magog :  of  which  we  have  a  full 
account  in  the  38th  and  39th  chapters  of  Ezekiel,  and  reiterated 
and  confirmed  in  the  20th  chapter  of  the  Revelation.  Gog  is 
believed  to  designate  the  king,  and  Magog  the  people,  who  shall 
make  war  upon  the  Church  and  seem  to  have  overcome  her. 
What  people  are  here  intended,  seems  not  easy  precisely  to  de- 
termine. Nor  do  I  suppose  any  one  people  is  designated.  The 
prophecy  which  predicts  the  invasion  of  this  numerous  and  mighty 
host,  and  their  apparent  victory,  but  their  final  and  signal  over- 
throw, commences  thus  :  "  Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  O  Gog,  the 
chief  prince  of  Meshech  and  Tubal." 

The  word  here  rendered  "  chief  ^^  is  Rosh.,  which,  if  taken  as  a 
proper  name,  as  many  commentators  do,  is  the  name  of  a  portion 
of  the  Scythians  from  whom  the  modem  Russians  have  their 


GOG   AND    MAGOG.  245 

origin.  Magog  was  the  son  of  Japhet,  from  whom  the  Scythians 
are  supposed  to  be  derived.  Tubal  was  the  fifth  son,  and  Me- 
shech  the  sixth  son,  of  Japhet.  They  are  supposed  to  be  the 
progenitors  of  the  Muscovites,  another  large  portion  of  the  Rus- 
sian empire.  The  Tartars,  from  whom  descended  the  Turks,  are 
of  Scythian  origin.  The  Mogul  Tartars  are  to  this  day  called 
Magog  by  Arabian  writers.  The  people,  therefore,  here  des- 
ignated would  seem  to  be  (as  national  localities  now  are),  the 
Russians,  the  Turks,  the  Tartars,  and  all  those  vast  hordes  of 
Barbarians  that  inhabit  the  north  of  Asia.  In  ancient  times  all 
these  would  have  been  called  by  the  comprehensive  and  indefinite 
name  of  Scythians. 

I,  therefore,  understand  the  terms  Gog  and  Magog  to  be  general 
terms,  used  formerly  to  denote  those  hordes  of  northern  Barba- 
rians that  used  to  make  their  bloody  and  desolating  incursions  on 
the  more  civilized  portions  of  the  south.  Hence  these  terms 
come  in  time  to  mean  any  barbarous,  cruel,  invading  army.  It 
is  in  this  sense,  I  apprehend,  that  the  prophets  used  the  words 
Gog  and  Magog,  in  reference  to  the  enemies  of  the  Church.  Sen- 
nacherib, with  his  fierce,  blood-thirsty  army,  was  the  Gog  and 
Magog  of  that  period.  The  heartless  and  ferocious  Antiochus 
JEpiphanes,  whose  whole  heart  seemed  intent  on  his  bloody  design 
of  exterminating  the  people  of  God  and  blotting  out  their  name 
forever,  was  the  Gog  and  Magog  of  his  dark  period.  He  raised 
his  foot  and  had  well  nigh  crushed  his  prey,  when  a  hand  from 
on  high  snatched  them  as  from  the  paws  of  the  Lion.  In  like 
manner  the  Romans  were  the  Gog  and  Magog  of  that  disastrous 
period,  when,  in  the  desti-uction  of  the  Holy  City  and  the  over- 
throw of  the  Jewish  nation,  God  allowed  his  elect  people  to  be 
scourged  for  their  sins. 

These  terms  are  used,  alegorically,  for  any  princes  or  people 
that  set  themselves  up  to  oppose  the  true  Church ;  and  the  in- 


246  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OP   THE   WORLD. 

stances  to  which  I  have  alluded,  may  be  taken  as  primary  though 
not  principal  fulfilments  of  those  prophecies  which  predict  the 
general  invasion  of  the  Church  by  some  strong,  combined  and 
cruel  enemy,  and  as  emblematical  of  that  great  and  final  confiict 
to  which  our  attention  is  now  called. 

The  conflict  described  in  Ezekiel,  38th  and  39th  chapters,  is 
confined  "  to  the  loiter  days."  The  substance  of  the  prophetic  de- 
scription is  this :  that  a  powerful  and  fierce  army  shall  be  arrayed 
against  the  people  of  God — shall  put  them  in  great  fear,  and  well 
nigh  overcome  them,  yet  they  shall  be  signally  discomfited  by  the 
special  interposition  of  the  Almighty.  Their  defeat  is  described 
thus :  "  My  fury,"  says  God,  "  shall  come  into  my  face ;  for  in 
my  jealousy,  and  in  the  fire  of  my  wrath  have  I  spoken  (saying), 
Surely  in  that  day  shall  there  be  a  great  shaking  in  the  land — so 
that  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  and  all  creeping  things  that  creep  on  the  earth, 
and  all  the  men  that  are  upon  the  earth,  shall  shake  at  my  pres- 
ence ;  and  the  mountains  shall  be  thrown  down,  and  the  steep  places 
shall  fall,  and  every  wall  shall  fall  to  the  ground.  And  I  will 
call  for  a  sword  against  him  throughout  all  my  mountains,  saith 
the  Lord  God :  every  man's  sword  shall  be  against  his  brother. 
And  I  will  plead  against  him,  with  pestilence  and  with  blood; 
and  I  will  rain  upon  him,  and  upon  his  bands,  and  upon  the  many 
people  that  are  with  him,  an  overflowing  rain,  and  great  hailstones, 
fire  and  brimstone."  Then  follows  a  survey  of  the  battle-field. 
The  weapons  of  war  lie  mingled  with  the  dead — shields  and  buck- 
lers— bows  and  arrows — ^hand-staves  and  spears — cover  the  wide 
and  bloody  arena.  For  seven  years  they  take  no  wood  out  of 
the  field,  nor  cut  down  any  out  of  the  forests,  for  they  shall  bum 
the  weapons  for  fuel — and  seven  months  shall  be  occupied  in 
burying  the  dead  bodies,  or  in  gathering  up  their  bleaching  bones 
from  off  the  face  of  the  land. 


ASSAULT  OF  THE  ENEMIES  OF  GODLINESS.      247 

They  came  as  a  mighty,  vaunting,  countless  host — they  came 
over  the  whole  land  as  a  cloud,  and  darkened  the  whole  face  of 
the  earth — nothing  seemed  wanting  to  ensure  them  a  complete 
victory — they  are  about  to  shout  their  triumph,  when  in  an  un- 
expected hour  pestilence,  and  the  fiery  flying  dragons  of  divine 
judgments  come  down  upon  them,  and  they  are  as  the  stubble 
before  the  devouring  flames.  And  the  "  Lord  magnifies  himself," 
and  makes  known  "  among  the  nations  that  he  is  Lord." 

Here  we  have,  " in  the  latter  days"  a  great  and  confederated 
assault  of  the  enemies  of  godliness  against  the  true  Church,  and 
their  final  overthrow,  and  the  triumph  of  the  Church. 

There  is  also  a  prediction  of  this  same  thing,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
in  Isaiah,  66th  chapter,  15th  to  24th  verses.  A  very  similar  scene 
of  conflict  is  here  described  with  the  additional  fact,  that  after  the 
great  battle  and  the  temporary  overthrow  of  the  righteous,  the 
remnant  that  shall  "  escape  "  shall  flee  to  the  Gentiles,  to  Tar- 
shish,  Pul,  and  Lud — to  Tubal  and  Javan,  and  the  isles  afar  off — 
countries  which,  in  the  minds  of  the  ancients,  occupied  the  places 
of  what  we  term  heathen  nations — and  "  they  shall  declare  my 
glory  among  the  Gentiles."  That  is,  the  conflict  will  become  so 
severe  that  many  will  gladly  make  their  escape  to  the  heathen 
world  where  they  shall  preach  the  good  news  of  the  kingdom,  and 
exemplify  the  glory  of  the  cross,  to  those  who  know  not  God. 
Their  fall  shall  be  the  rise  of  many. 

The  result  of  the  great  conflict  as  here  described  is,  first,  a  great 
overthrow  of  the  wicked,  and,  secondly,  a  great  ingathering  of  the 
saints.  The  enemies  of  the  Church  are  now  all  prostrate :  "  And 
they  shall  go  forth  and  look  upon  the  carcasses  of  the  men  that 
have  transgressed  against  me ;  for  their  worm  shall  not  die,  neither 
shall  their  fire  be  quenched ;  and  they  shall  be  an  abhorring  to 
all  flesh."  The  overthrow  shall  be  complete,  signal  and  disgrace- 
ful in  the  extreme.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  people  of  God 


248  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

are  strengthened  and  multitudes  of  all  nations  added  to  their 
number :  "  And  they  shall  bring  all  your  brethren  for  an  offering 
unto  the  Lord,  out  of  all  nations,  upon  horses,  and  in  chariots,  in 
litters,  and  upon  mules,  and  upon  swift  beasts,  to  my  holy  moun- 
tain Jerusalem,  saith  the  Lord."  That  is,  great  multitudes  of 
converts  shall  come  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  shall  be  con- 
veyed to  the  Holy  City  or  the  central  place  of  worship,  by  all  the 
facilities  which  the  different  modes  of  conveyance  can  afford. 
There  seems  something  here  to  favor  the  idea  that,  during  the 
Messiah's  reign  of  one  thousand  years,  not  only  the  Jews  shall 
occupy  the  Holy  Land,  but  Jerusalem  shall  be  made  a  kind  of 
religious  capital  for  the  whole  world — that  not  the  twelve  tribes 
alone,  but  all  that  be  the  true  seed  of  Abraham  or  heirs  accord- 
ing to  the  promise,  shall,  by  their  representatives  at  least,  go  up 
to  Jerusalem  to  worship. 

I  would  next  direct  attention  to  the  scene  as  presented  in  the 
Revelation  given  to  the  disciple  at  Patmos.  Here  I  would  make 
a  remark  or  two  concerning  the  thrillingly  interesting  subjects 
brought  before  us  in  that  extraordinary  portion  of  the  Sacred 
Volume.  Its  general  subject  is  the  condition  of  the  Churchy  in 
the  different  ages  of  the  world,  up  to  its  final  triumph.  There 
are  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets,  and  seven  vicds  of  the  last  plagues. 
The  first,  or  the  seven  seals,  are  taken  by  the  most  approved 
commentators  to  be  a  representation  of  the  Church  and  her  per- 
secutions under  the  pagan  power.  The  seven  trumpets  represent 
the  same  under  the  iron  rule  of  Popery  and  Mohammedanism. 
And  the  seven  vials,  or  the  seven  last  plagues,  symbolize  the 
destruction  of  these  mighty  and  long  continued  antichristian 
powers.  The  pouring  out  of  the  first  four  vials,  describes  the  suc- 
cessive stages  of  the  destruction  of  these  antichristian  powers.  The 
fifth  and  sixth  symbolize  the  final  downfall  of  the  Romish  and 
Mohammedan  powers.     And  the  seventh,  the  grand  overthrow  of 


EXTINCTION    OF   THE    TURKISH   POWER.  249 

the  combined  powers  of  Satan  on  earth.  It  is  with  these  three 
last  with  which  we  are  at  present  more  particularly  concerned. 

**  The  fifth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  seat  of  the  Beast ; 
and  his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness,  and  they  gnawed  their 
tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven,  because 
of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  and  repented  not  of  their  deeds." 
"  The  seat  of  the  beast " — the  centre  of  Papal  power,  or  Rome 
itself.  The  proud  and  cruel,  the  persecuting  and  usurping  hier- 
archy of  Romanism  shall  wane  more  and  more,  till  there  shall 
come  some  terrible  interposition  of  divine  indignation.  He  will 
send  "darkness"  into  their  kingdom.  He  will  confound  their 
counsels  and  bring  their  cunning  craftiness  to  naught.  But  this 
shall  not  bring  them  to  repentance,  but  shall  only  the  more  call 
forth  the  venom  of  sin,  and  nerve  their  arm  the  more  madly 
against  the  God  of  heaven — whom  they  shall  more  wickedly 
blaspheme — and  "  gnaw  their  tongues  for  pain." 

Bear  in  mind  now  for  a  moment  the  state  of  high  excited  feel- 
ing and  of  mad  and  irrepressible  frenzy  into  which  this  portion  of 
the  enemies  of  the  Church  are  now  brought  by  the  judgment  of 
Heaven  and  the  insupportable  apprehension  that  their  cause  is 
now  desperate,  and  we  will  turn  to  the  next,  or  the  sixth  vial, 
"  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  on  the  great  River  Eu- 
phrates, and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up  that  the  way  of  the 
kings  of  the  east  might  be  prepared." 

Here  we  have  the  extinction  of  the  Turkish  power  and  the 
Mohammedan  Religion.  It  is  symbolized,  as  before  shown,  by 
the  River  Euphrates.  And  the  drying  up  of  the  waters  of  that 
river  is  an  apt  illustration  of  the  extinction  of  that  mighty  flood 
of  oppression  to  the  true  Church.  "  That  the  way  of  the  Kings 
of  the  East  might  be  prepared  " — that  the  mighty  obstacles  thrown 
in  the  way  of  the  conversion  and  return  to  their  native  land,  of 
the  Jews,  who,  by  the  special  divine  favor,  are  princes  of  the 


250  THE   COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

East ;  or  it  may  mean  that  the  way  for  the  conversion  to  Christi- 
anity of  the  nations  of  the  east  with  their  nobles  and  kings,  might 
be  prepared.  For  Mohammedanism  is  the  grand  barrier  between 
Paganism  and  Christianity. 

The  Crescent  is  no  doubt  waning,  and  soon  to  cease  to  cast  its 
sickly  light  over  the  nations.  But  it  is  not  with  its  waning,  or 
with  the  means,  or  the  precise  time  of  its  overthrow,  that  we  are 
at  present  so  much  concerned,  as  with  the  results  of  that  much-to-be 
desired  catastrophe.  We  have  seen  into  what  a  state  of  demoniac 
madness  the  correlative  power  of  the  beast  was  thrown  by  the  many 
encroachments  of  the  kingdom  of  light  into  his  dark  domains. 
As  soon  as  he  sees  his  empire  in  peril  he  maddens  like  a  chained 
tiger — "  gnawing  his  tongue  for  pain  "  and  "  blaspheming  the  God 
of  Heaven."  And  if  you  will  read  on  from  the  12th  verse  of 
Chapter  16th,  you  will  see  that  the  adherents  of  the  Papal  Beast 
are  not  alone  in  waging  a  dreadful  warfare  against  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High.  After  the  drying  up  of  the  waters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates and  the  consequent  ingathering  of  many  eastern  nations, 
and  the  glorious  progress  and  triumph  of  Christianity,  then  shall 
come  the  great  battle  of  Armageddon.  The  vision  of  the  man 
of  Patmos,  describing  this  mighty  conflict,  was  this :  "  And  I  saw 
three  unclean  spirits,  like  frogs,  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  false  prophet.  For  they  are  the  spirits  of  devils,  working 
miracles,  which  go  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the 
whole  world,  to  gather  them  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God 
Almighty.  And  he  gathered  them  together  in  a  place  called  in 
the  Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon." 

Mark  here  the  origin  and  the  character  of  the  hostile  invaders. 
They  are  all  "  unclean  spirits  " — the  first  is  an  emanation  from 
the  "  Dragon,"  the  personification  of  Paganism  ;  the  second  is  the 
embodied  spirit  of  the  Beast  (or  the  Papal  Power),  and  the  third 


THE    GREAT    BATTLE.  251 

of  the  False  Prophet.  An  unholy  confederacy  of  these  three, 
it  would  seem,  is  to  compose  that  last  great  enemy  against  which 
the  Church  of  Christ  is  finally  to  contend.  Hitherto  the  warfare 
between  the  powers  of  hght  and  of  darkness  has  been  carried 
on  sectionally.  Formidable  divisions  of  the  enemy  have  from 
time  to  time  made  their  deadly  assaults,  and  never  are  they  absent 
from  the  field,  yet  never  before  have  they  united  their  inglorious 
destinies  and  fought  for  the  common  interests  of  a  sinking  cause. 
It  is  not  said,  nor  are  we  to  suppose,  this  combined  foe  to  God 
and  man,  that  shall  wage  so  fierce  and  exterminating  a  war  against 
the  saints,  shall,  inform,  be  either  Pagan,  Mohammedan,  or  Papal. 
It  may,  in  name  and  dress,  be  altogether  another  thing ;  yet  it 
shall  possess  the  spirit  of  the  Dragon,  the  Beast  and  the  False 
Prophet.  Its  spirit  shall  be  a  disgusting  compound  of  the  abom- 
inations of  Idolatry,  of  the  bigotry  and  blasphemy  of  the  Papacy, 
and  the  delusion,  the  cruelty  and  haughtiness  of  Mohammedanism. 
It  shall  be  literally  an  antichristian  power — a  grand  confederacy 
against  a  pure  Religion.  However  at  variance  they  may  be  on 
other  points  they  shall  agree  to  unite  all  their  powers,  and  put 
forth  all  their  fury  against  the  people  of  the  Holy  One.  That 
this  shall  be  altogether  a  conflict  with  carnal  weapons  I  do  not 
assert.  No  doubt  it  will  be  a  spiritual  warfare — a  war  of  words 
and  of  principles,  and  opinions  such  as  the  world  never  yet  wit- 
nessed, yet  I  see  not  what  reason  we  have  to  believe  it  will  not 
be  a  war  of  nations  and  of  blood.  There  is  every  appearance 
of  it  both  in  the  prophecy  and  in  the  present  signs  of  the  times. 
The  place  of  this  great  battle  is  said  to  be  Armageddon.  This 
is  a  place  in  or  near  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon,  not  far  from 
Mount  Carmel.  It  had  become  proverbial  as  a  place  of  blood 
and  slaughter — more  than  a  Waterloo  of  modern  history — a  place 
of  many  fights.  It  was  the  battle-ground  of  King  Josiah  against 
Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt — of  Gideon  with  the  Midianites — of 


252  THE  COMING  CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

Saul  with  the  Philistines — of  Judas  Maccabeus  with  Tryphon — 
and  in  later  times,  of  the  Tartars  with  the  Saracens.  Hence 
the  term  Armageddon  is  probably  merely  a  proverbial  expression 
for  a  great  and  bloody  slaughter,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world 
it  may  be.  I  think,  however,  there  is  much  which  leads  to  the 
expectation  that  this  great  conflict  will  be  in  or  near  the  Holy 
Land. 

The  15  th  verse,  which  I  omitted  in  the  above  quotation,  con- 
tains an  admonition  to  all,  to  be  prepared  for  the  great  day  of 
trial :  "  Behold  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth, 
and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his 
shame."  He  shall  come  as  he  did  to  vindicate  his  cause  in  the 
overthrow  of  Jerusalem,  unexpectedly.  He  shall  take  the  world 
by  surprise.  The  language  of  warning,  therefore,  is, "  watch,  for 
ye  know  not  in  what  hour  the  Son  of  man  will  come."  Keep 
your  lamps  trimmed  and  burning,  for  He  will  come  as  a  thief  in 
the  night. 

Let  us  now  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  result  of  this  mighty  com- 
bat. Nothing,  as  we  have  seen,  can  exceed  the  fierceness  of  wrath 
by  which  the  aliens  shall  be  urged  on  to  the  battle-field.  They 
gnaw  theu'  tongues  in  their  rage.  They  seem  now  determined 
to  crush  their  long-hated  tormentors  and  to  cast  their  bonds  from 
them  forever.  But  they  know  not  against  whom  they  contend. 
The  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  armies  is  there ;  and,  with  all 
their  power  and  their  wrath,  with  all  their  vaunting  and  prowess, 
they  are  as  chaff  before  the  wind.  Their  overthrow  is  described 
in  the  pouring  out  of  the  next  vial. 

"  And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air  ;  and 
there  came  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  from  the  throne,  saying, 
It  is  done.  And  there  were  voices,  and  thunders,  and  lightnings ; 
and  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not  since  men 
were  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and  so 


DOWNFALL    OF    GREAT    BABYLON.  253 

great.  And  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fell ;  and  great  Babylon  came  in  remem- 
brance before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the 
fierceness  of  his  wrath.  And  every  island  fled  away,  and  the 
mountains  were  not  found.  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail 
out  of  heaven,  every  stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent ;  and  men 
blasphemed  God  because  of  the  plague  of  the  hail ;  for  the  plague 
thereof  was  exceeding  great." 

Though  highly  figurative,  yet  nothing  could  be  more  awfully 
descriptive  of  an  irrecoverable  overthrow.  The  vial  is  poured 
out  into  the  air — on  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air.  It  is 
aimed  at  the  very  principles  and  outbreakings  of  sin.  It  struck 
a  death-hhw.  Angels  saw  it,  and  a  song  of  triumph  and  of  praise 
issued  from  the  Temple  above,  saying,  "  It  is  done  ;  "  the  great 
battle  is  fought  and  victory  won.  And  this  is  echoed  back  to 
heaven  by  nature's  spontaneous  bursts  of  joy  : — voices  and  thun- 
derings  and  lightnings  and  a  great  earthquake.  The  mystic  Bab- 
ylon fell.  It  was  a  great  commotion.  **  Every  island  fled  away, 
and  the  mountains  were  not  found."  The  whole  earth  shall  be 
shaken  in  this  mighty  convulsion.  A  dominion  of  six  thousand 
years  shall  now  be  demolished,  and  on  its  ruins  be  established  the 
empire  of  the  Messiah.  Men,  who  shall  "  blaspheme  God,"  shall 
still  exist,  yet  they  shall  not,  as  now,  sit  on  the  high  places  of  the 
earth.     The  leviathan  shall  then  have  a  hook  in  his  nose. 

The  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  chapters  are  taken  up  in  a 
more  detailed  account  of  the  great  slaughter  and  of  the  magnifi- 
cent victory  of  the  saints,  together  with  the  bitter  lamentation  of 
the  wicked  over  the  downfall  of  their  great  Babylon.  The  nine- 
teenth chapter  begins  with  a  beautiful  and  sublime  ascription  of 
praise  to  Him  who  has  avenged  the  cause  of  his  elect — over- 
thrown the  powers  of  sin  and  hell  and,  as  the  Lamb  of  God, 
made  ready  the  Bride  for  the  marriage-supper.     "  And  to  her 


254  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

was  granted  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and 
white,  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteousness  of  the  saints.  And 
he  said  unto  me.  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are  called  unto 
the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb." 

The  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  chapter  seems  but  a  prophetic 
description  of  the  same  great  conflict  which  we  have  seen  to  be 
foretold  in  the  sixteenth  chapter.  He  that  is  called  "  Faithful 
and  True,"  whose  name  is  called  "  the  Word  of  God  " — and  the 
ensign  of  whose  authority  is  written  on  his  vesture  and  on  his 
thigh.  King  op  kings  and  Lord  op  lords,  whose  eyes  are 
a  flaming  fire,  and  on  whose  head  are  many  crowns,  and  out  of 
whose  mouth  proceedeth  a  sharp  sword,  he  leadeth  forth  the  hosts 
of  heaven.  While,  at  the  same  time,  an  angel  summons  the  fowls 
of  the  air  to  come  and  feast  on  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  on  the  flesh 
of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men.  So  sudden,  so  signal 
and  so  complete  should  be  the  overthrow.  And  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  with  their  armies,  headed  by  the  beast,  make  war  on  him 
that  sitteth  on  the  white  horse  and  on  his  army — and  the  result  is 
that  they  were  "  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone." 
"  And  the  remnant  were  slain  with  the  sword  of  him  that  sitteth 
on  the  horse — which  sword  proceedeth  out  of  his  mouth :  and  all 
the  fowls  were  filled  with  their  flesh." 

And  here  we  must  drop  the  curtain  and  leave  this  most  awfully 
interesting  scene.  Christ  has  conquered ;  the  Church  is  trium- 
phant ;  the  empire  of  sin  is  demolished ;  angels  shout  the  victory ; 
hell  trembles ;  heaven  rejoices. 

It  behooves  us,  then,  seriously  to  reflect  how  puny,  how  unavail- 
ing is  the  rage  of  man.  He  may  speak  great  swelling  words  and 
mouth  the  heavens,  but  his  breath  is  in  his  nostrils — his  arm  is  in 
a  moment  palsied.  In  vain  does  he  contend  with  the  Almighty. 
Men  may  combine  their  counsels  and  their  might — nations  may 
confederate  and  speak  stout  words  against  the  God  of  heaven — 


OUR   RESPONSIBILITY.  255 

the  heathen  may  rage,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves 
and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord  and 
against  his  anointed — they  may  defy  the  majesty  on  high,  and 
think  to  cast  off  his  law ;  their  attempts  are  but  presumption  and 
madness. 

How  solemn,  then,  to  occupy,  as  we  now  do,  a  position  where, 
either  as  a  matter  of  history,  present  experience  or  of  prophecy, 
we  see  the  steady,  the  onward  and  the  irresistible  movements  of 
Providence,  accelerating  as  they  advance,  and  drawing  along 
with  them  events  more  and  more  momentous ;  and  leaving  behind 
them  consequences  more  and  more  magnificent ;  and  we  ourselves 
associated  with  and  expected  to  take  a  part  in  the  affairs  of  a 
period  like  the  present.  What  a  responsibihty  rests  upon  us  to 
live  worthy  our  times ! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Day  of  Vengeance  and  the  Year  of  the  Redeemed. 

''  Y6  princes,  potentates,  and  men  of  war, 
And  naitred  heads,  associate  now  yourselves, 
And  be  dispersed ;  embattle  and  be  broken. 
Gird  on  your  armor,  and  be  dashed  to  dust. 
Take  counsel,  and  it  shall  be  brought  to  naught. 
Speak,  and  it  shall  not  stand." 

Incidentally  having  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  sacred  writers 
are  wont  to  speak  in  the  same  connection,  of  the  day  of  the  Lord's 
vengeance  on  the  wicked  and  the  year  of  the  redeemed,  or  the 
great  and  final  deliverance  of  God's  people,  as  contemporaneous 
events  in  close  juxtaposition,  it  may  seem  proper  to  sustain  this 
position  by  a  reference  to  a  few  passages  of  Scripture.  These 
will  go  to  support  the  position  we  have  assumed,  viz.,  that  the 
clearing  away  of  the  smoke  of  the  great  battle-field,  shall  reveal 
the  dawn  of  the  glorious  Millennial  morning.  The  sun  of  right- 
eousness shall  arise  upon  the  darkest  cloud  that  ever  brooded  over 
the  face  of  our  sin- smitten  earth.  The  great  conflict  shall  be 
the  dying  struggle  of  the  Dragon,  the  Beast,  and  the  false  Prophet. 
It  shall  shake  terribly  the  earth,  yet  shall  be  the  immediate  pre- 
cursor, yea,  the  efficient  agent  to  bring  in  that  reign  of  righteous- 
ness of  which  we  speak. 

I  shall  call  attention  to  a  class  of  scriptures  which  describe  as 
(256) 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  GREAT  BATTLE.        257 

contemporaneous  events  the  day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance,  and 
the  year  of  the  redeemed.  Of  the  many  which  might  be  adduced 
I  shall  select  but  a  few. 

The  first  description  of  the  great  battle  which  I  shall  cite  is 
taken  from  the  34th  chapter  of  Isaiah,  summoning  all  the  tribes 
and  nations  of  the  earth  to  come  and  behold  what  the  Lord  hath 
done. 

"  Come  near,  ye  nations,  to  hear ;  and  hearken,  ye  people ;  let 
the  earth  hear,  and  all  that  is  therein ;  the  world  and  all  things 
that  come  forth  of  it.  For  the  indignation  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
all  nations,  and  his  fury  is  upon  all  their  armies ;  he  hath  utterly 
destroyed  them,  he  hath  delivered  them  to  the  slaughter.  Their 
slain  also  shall  be  cast  out — the  mountains  shall  be  melted  with 
their  blood.  And  all  the  host  of  heaven  shall  be  dissolved,  and 
the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll ;  and  all  their 
host  shall  fall  down,  as  the  leaf  falleth  off  from  the  vine,  and  as  a 
falling  fig  from  the  fig-tree.  For  my  sword  shall  be  bathed  in 
heaven  ;  behold,  it  shall  come  down  upon  Idumea,  and  upon  the 
people  of  my  curse,  to  judgment.  The  sword  of  the  Lord  is  filled 
with  blood ;  for  the  Lord  hath  a  sacrifice  in  Bozrah,  and  a  great 
slaughter  in  the  land  of  Idumea.  For  it  is  the  day  of  the  Lord's 
vengeance,  and  the  year  of  recompenses  for  the  controversy  of 
Zion." 

What  we  would  have  more  especially  noted  here  is,  that  the 
dreadful  conflict  described  above,  and  which  we  verily  believe  is 
at  hand,  is  a  conflict  which,  while  it  shall  bring  disaster  and  in- 
evitable defeat  on  the  aliens,  shall  end  in  the  triumphant  deliv- 
erance and  the  final  enlargement  of  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High 
God. 

Edom  or  Idumea,  the  land  of  Edom,  is  used  in  the  passage 

cited,  as  the  prophets  are  wont  to  use  it,  to  denote  the  enemies 

of  Zion,  or  the  true  Church.     Being  an  ancient,  prominent,  and 
17 


258  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

inveterate  enemy  of  Israel,  it  is  taken  as  a  representative  of 
Zion's  enemies  in  all  after-ages.  In  its  general  import  it  does 
not  seem  to  differ  greatly  from  that  of  Gog  and  Magog.  In 
modern  phrase,  both  may  be  taken  to  represent  the  great  modem 
antichrist,  which,  after  having  stood  as  the  enemy  of  the  Church 
from  generation  to  generation,  shall,  in  some  more  concentrated 
form,  and  in  the  spirit  of  a  more  confirmed  and  inveterate  hos- 
tility, make  war  with  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  overcome 
and  kill  them.  Bozrah  was  the  chief  city  of  Edom — the  Rome 
of  the  ancient  Church,  and  a  living  type  of  modern  Rome. 

But  we  should  quite  fail  to  discover  the  force  of  the  Prophet's 
prediction  :  "  My  sword  shall  be  bathed  in  heaven ;  behold  it  shall 
come  down  upon  Idumea  and  upon  the  people  of  my  curse,  to 
judgment ;  the  sword  of  the  Lord  is  filled  with  blood — the  Lord 
hath  a  sacrifice  in  Bozrah,"  unless  we  admit  that  the  prediction, 
in  its  principal  and  final  import,  remains  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
coming  conflict  with  the  modern  Edom,  the  Antichrist  of  the 
present  day. 

But  lest  the  reader  should  think  the  attempt  to  identify  Edom 
and  antichristian  Rome,  fanciful  or  far-fetched,  we  may  remind 
him  that  history  has  identified  the  two  in  a  manner  he  may  not 
be  aware.  What  we  have  intimated  is  that  the  terms  Esau, 
Edom,  Idumea,  representing  as  they  did  the  ancient  enemies  of 
the  Church,  have,  in  prophetic  language,  descended  to  us  as  the 
representatives  of  the  modern  foes  of  Zion.  Yet  more  than  this 
is  true.  There  is  a  historical  connection  of  some  interest  here. 
Rome  was  founded  by  the  Trojans ;  Troy  by  the  Tyrians ;  Tyre 
by  the  Edomites,  and  some  historical  records  claim  a  yet  more 
direct  lineage  of  Rome  from  Edom ;  viz.,  that  the  earliest  colo- 
nists of  Rome  were  actually  Edomites.  And  others  think  they 
discover  veritable  marks  of  consanguinity  between  Papal  Rome 
and  Edom,  not  the  less  significant  or  interesting,  making  one  a 


ROME   IS    EDOM.  259 

type  of  the  other.  Esau  or  Edom  means  red.  Rome  is  delineated 
in  prophecy,  and  largely  characterized  in  all  history  as  a  woman 
arrayed  in  scarlet — as  a  woman  on  a  scarlet  beast — and  she  is  de- 
nominated a  great  city  clothed  in  scarlet.  Rome  is  Edom — Red 
— ^the  scarlet  city.  And  it  is  upon  this  Idumea,  this  land  of 
Edom,  that  the  unsheathed  sword  of  the  Lord,  bathed  in  blood, 
shall  come  down,  and  dreadful  shall  be  the  sacrifice  upon  the 
altar  of  the  Divine  displeasure  when  he  shall  arise  to  be  avenged 
on  his  enemies. 

But  this  "  day  of  vengeance  "  shall  be  the  "  year  of  recompense 
for  the  controversy  of  Zion."  The  Lord  shall  interpose  when 
the  foe  shall  appear  the  mightiest  and  the  most  boastful ;  and 
"  great  shall  be  the  slaughter." 

Did  the  above  view  need  verifying  we  might  call  to  our  aid 
another  vision  of  the  same  prophet.  The  63d  chapter  of  Isaiah 
represents  a  terrible  conflict  and  a  dreadful  slaughter  of  formi- 
dable enemies ;  and  the  period  at  which  this  occurs  is  character- 
ized as  the  time  when  the  "  year  of  the  redeemed  is  come."  The 
description  is  that  of  a  warrior  returning  from  an  awfully  de- 
structive battle.  "Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom,  with 
dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ?  this  that  is  glorious  in  his  apparel, 
traveling  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength  ?  I  that  speak  in  right- 
eousness, mighty  to  save. 

"  Wherefore  art  thou  red  in  thine  apparel,  and  thy  garments 
like  one  that  treadeth  the  wine-fat  ? 

"  I  have  trodden  the  wine-press  alone,  and  of  the  people  there 
was  none  with  me ;  for  I  will  tread  them  in  mine  anger,  and 
trample  them  in  my  fury ;  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprinkled 
upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my  raiment.  For  the 
day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart,  and  the  year  of  my  redeemed 
is  come."     "  And  I  will  tread  down  the  people  in  mine  anger,  and 


260  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

make  them  drunk  in  my  fury,  and  I  will  bring  down  their  strength 
to  the  earth." 

It  is  the  day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance — a  day  of  dreadful  slaugh- 
ter— of  unparalleled  carnage,  yet  the  day  of  deliverance  to  God's 
people — the  usherer  in  of  the  "  year  of  the  redeemed."  Then 
follows  a  state  of  quietness,  peace,  and  blessedness,  which  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  every  saint  the  song  of  triumphant  praise:  "I 
will  mention  the  loving-kindnesses  of  the  Lord,  and  the  praises  of 
the  Lord,  according  to  all  that  the  Lord  hath  bestowed  upon  us ; 
and  the  great  goodness  towards  the  house  of  Israel,  which  he  hath 
bestowed  on  them  according  to  his  mercies,  and  according  to  the 
multitude  of  his  loving-kindnesses." 

In  view  of  such  a  triumphant  deliverance,  the  evangelical 
prophet  elsewhere  utters  the  same  voice  of  hope  and  encourage- 
ment :  "  Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hands,  and  confirm  the  feeble 
knees.  Say  to  them  that  be  of  a  fearful  heart,  Be  strong,  fear 
not :  behold  your  God  will  come  with  vengeance,  even  God  with 
a  recompense ;  he  will  come  and  save  you."  Then  follows  the 
happy  time  which  prophets  and  kings  have  desired  to  see :  "  The 
eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall 
be  unstopped.  Then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  like  the  hart,  and 
the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing.  For  in  the  wilderness  shall  waters 
break  out,  and  streams  in  the  desert."  The  same  Mighty  One, 
who  shall  come  in  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  shall  come  with  a 
recompense  to  save  all,  and  to  be  honored  in  all  whose  names  are 
written  on  the  palms  of  his  hands. 

Again,  in  that  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord,  the  day  of 
sore  consternation  and  rebuke,  when  the  Lord  shall  arise  to  shake 
terribly  the  earth  and  to  be  avenged  on  his  foes,  he  utters  to  his 
people  the  warning  voice :  "  Flee  out  of  the  midst  of  Babylon 
and  deliver  every  man  his  soul :  be  not  cut  off  in  her  iniquity  ; 
for  this  is  the  time  of  the  Lord's  vengeance."     But  Zion  shall  not 


SIGNS    OF    THE   LAST    GREAT    CONFLICT.  261 

be  forsaken  of  her  God.     "  He  will  render  unto  her  a  recom- 
pense." 

And  since  I  have  taken  in  hand  to  cite  a  few  of  the  passages 
which  sustain  the  position  assumed,  I  will  adduce  a  few  corrob- 
orative passages  from  the  New  Testament. 

In  the  21st  chapter  of  Luke,  the  same  idea  is  not  the  less  dis- 
tinctly announced.  The  evangelist  alludes  to  the  commotions  and 
afflictions  which  shall  precede  and  accompany  the  last  great  con- 
flict. There  shall  be  "  wars  and  commotions ;  for  these  things 
must  first  come  to  pass."  Nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and 
kingdom  against  kingdom,  and  great  earthquakes  shall  be  in  di- 
verse places,  and  famines,  pestilences ;  and  fearful  sights  and  great 
signs  shall  there  be  from  heaven.  They  shall  lay  their  hands 
on  you  and  persecute  you.  There  shall  be  great  distress  in  the 
land  and  wrath  upon  the  people.  And  then  shall  there  be  "  signs 
in  the  sun  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the  stars ;  and  upon  the  earth 
distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity :  the  sea  and  the  waves  roar- 
ing ;  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after  those 
things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth ;  for  the  powers  of  heaven 
shall  be  shaken." 

These  strong  figures,  describing  as  they  do  a  most  appalling 
series  of  events  which  accompany  a  great  and  general  conflict, 
had,  no  doubt,  a  primary  though  not  principal  or  final  fulfilment 
when  our  Lord  came  to  be  avenged  on  and  to  destroy  Jerusalem, 
and  the  people  who  had  by  wicked  hands  crucified  and  slain  the 
Lord  of  life,  and  to  give  enlargement  to  his  Church.  The  great 
conflict  of  that  eventful  period  was  but  a  type  of  the  one  of  which 
we  speak.  This  shall  be  the  signal  and  final  overthrow  of  the 
powers  of  darkness  ;  and  the  great  and  final  victory  of  the  saints. 
The  sun  of  that  glorious  morning — the  morning  of  the  "  latter- 
day  glory,"  shall  arise  out  of,  and  shall  scatter  that  cloud  of  "  blood 
and  fire,  and  vapor  of  smoke,"  with  which  the  last  great  battle 


262  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

shall  envelop  the  earth.  Or,  as  the  evangelist  has  it :  "  When 
these  things  begin  to  come  to  pass,  then  look  up,  and  lift  up  your 
heads,  for  your  redemption  draweth  nigh."  "  When  ye  see  these 
things,"  these  dire  calamities,  these  scathing  judgments  "  come  to 
pass,  know  ye  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand." 

We  cannot  look  abroad  over  the  face  of  the  earth  and  behold 
the  commotions  which  at  the  present  moment  disturb  the  nations 
— the  wars  and  rumors  of  wars — the  popular  outbreaks  of  polit- 
ical furor — the  internal  smoulderings  of  suppressed  liberty — the 
explosions  of  anarchy  and  usurpation — the  ebuUitions  of  insub- 
ordination and  discontent,  and  more  than  all,  the  illy-suppressed 
and  the  irrepressible  rage  of  a  half-suppressed  infidelity  and  the 
ominous  festerings  of  public  corruption  and  wickedness,  and  sup- 
press our  most  serious  apprehensions  that  "  that  great  and  notable 
day  of  the  Lord"  hastens  on  apace:  a  day  as  great  and  notable 
for  the  deliverance  and  enlargement  it  shall  bring  to  the  saints 
of  the  Most  High  God,  as  for  the  disaster  and  overthrow  it  shall 
inflict  on  their  enemies. 

The  appearance  or  revelation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  spoken 
of  by  Paul  in  his  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  teaches  the 
same  thing.  And  it  matters  not  here  if  it  be  claimed  that  this 
passage  refers  more  particularly  to  our  Lord's  second  coming  to 
judge  the  world.  The  coming  of  which  we  speak  is  at  least  typ- 
ical of  that  second  coming ;  and  the  general  design  and  results 
of  the  two  comings  are  the  same,  viz.,  to  vindicate  himself,  to  take 
vengeance  on  his  enemies,  and  to  accept,  honor  and  bless  his 
friends :  "  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with 
his  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that 
know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
— and  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  them 
that  believe." 

"  Christ's  coming,"  whether  taken  in  the  higher  sense,  or  in  some 


THE   LAST    GREAT   WOE.  263 

subordinate  acceptation  of  the  term,  is  a  period  of  righteous  dis- 
crimination between  the  wicked  and  the  righteous,  exalting  the 
one  and  humbling  if  not  overwhelming  the  other. 

Another  of  these  characteristic  passages  which  describe  the 
coincidence  in  question,  occurs  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the 
Revelation.  The  Beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bottomless  pit 
makes  war  against  the  saints,  overcomes  them,  and  kills  them. 
So  completely  prostrate  do  they  seem  to  be  that  their  bodies  lie 
dead  and  unburied  three  days  and  a  half  in  the  streets  of  the 
spiritual  Sodom,  in  contempt,  and  triumphed  over  by  the  vic- 
torious foe.  Then  follow  a  series  of  judgments — and  then  a  most 
remarkable  resuscitation,  vindication  and  exaltation  of  the  pros- 
trate saints,  and  the  most  unexpected  and  complete  overthrow  of 
their  enemies.  The  seventh  angel  sounds — the  last  great  woe  is 
inflicted — and  the  Revelator,  without  stopping  to  detail  its  awful 
contents,  hastens  to  tell  us  of  the  grand  consummation  ;  the  re- 
sult educed  by  the  Divine  Hand  from  that  terrific  event.  It  is 
that  "  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ;  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 
The  four  and  twenty  elders  (representatives  of  the  Church)  fall 
on  their  faces  and  worship  God,  praising  him  for  his  judgments 
and  his  mercies,  "  who  is,  and  was,  and  is  to  come,  the  Almighty ; " 
and  that  he  has  taken  to  himself  his  great  power  and  established 
his  reign  on  the  earth.  And  having  seen  the  temple  of  God  es- 
tablished among  men,  in  which  is  "  the  ark  of  the  testimony*' — the 
New  Jerusalem  come  down  from  heaven,  they  revert  again,  that 
the  contrast  may  appear  more  marked  and  the  mighty  hand  of 
God  more  visible,  to  the  tumultuous  condition  of  the  world  at  the 
time  of  the  introduction  of  this  blessed  period — to  the  "lightnings, 
and  voices,  and  thundering,  and  earthquakes,  and  great  hail,"  which 
were  employed  and  overruled  to  the  bringing  in  of  this  better  con- 
dition of  the  world  :  "  And  the  nations  were  angry,  and  thy  wrath 


264  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

is  come,  .  .  .  that  thou  shouldest  give  reward  unto  thy  servants  the 
prophets,  and  to  the  saints,  and  to  them  that  fear  thy  name,  small 
and  great ;  and  shouldest  destroy  them  which  destroy  the  earth." 

The  great  and  notable  events  which  shall  prove  so  disastrous 
and  overwhelming  to  the  one  party,  shall  be  joy  and  righteous- 
ness and  final  redemption  to  the  other. 

But  we  need  not  perhaps  pursue  our  subject  further  in  this  di- 
rection. Yet  we  may,  partly  by  the  way  of  recapitulation  and 
confirmation,  and  partly  for  the  sate  of  additional  thoughts  on  the 
same  general  subject,  ask  attention  to  two  other  somewhat  ex- 
tended descriptions  of  the  last  great  conflict.  The  one  we  meet 
in  the  prophecy  of  Joel,  and  the  other  in  that  of  Zephaniah. 
The  first  is  announced  by  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  and  the  marsh- 
aling of  warlike  hosts,  such  as  "  hath  not  been  ever  the  like, 
neither  shall  be  any  more  after  it,  even  to  the  years  of  many 
generations."  The  description  is  contained  in  the  second  and 
third  chapters.  We  need  not  quote  the  whole,  yet  our  quotations 
may  exceed  our  usual  limit. 

The  first  quotations  which  I  shall  make  (from  chapter  second), 
seem  to  describe  the  shaking  and  commotions,  the  wars  and  rumors 
of  wars,  which  precede  and  prepare  for,  the  great  and  decisive  bat- 
tle— ^in  connection  with  which,  and  commotions  going  on  at  the  same 
time  and  often  favored  by  them,  is  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel,  the 
extraordinary  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  revival  and  ex- 
tension of  a  pure  religion — the  conversion  of  all  nations  to  God. 
That  is,  the  taking  out  of  all  nations  a  people  to  serve  God — the 
bringing  in  of  the  "  fulness  of  the  Gentiles."  The  prophet  an- 
nounces the  approach  of  the  stirring  events  of  the  latter  days, 
thus: 

"  Blow  ye  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  and  sound  the  alarm  in  my  holy 
mountain ;  let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  tremble :  for  the 
day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand :  a  day  of  dark- 


MARTIAL    FORCES TERRIFIC    AGENCIES.  265 

ness  and  of  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness,  as 
the  morning  spread  upon  the  mountains ;  a  great  people  and  a 
strong ;  there  hath  not  been  ever  the  like,  npither  shall  be  any 
more  after  it,  even  to  the  years  of  many  generations.  A  fire 
devoureth  before  them,  and  behind  them  a  flame  burneth :  the 
land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and  behind  them  a 
desolate  wilderness ;  yea,  and  nothing  shall  escape  them."  "  The 
earth  shall  quake  before  them ;  the  heavens  shall  tremble ;  the 
sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  dark,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw  their 
shining." 

Such  is  a  description  of  the  formidable  martial  forces  that  shall 
be  rallied  at  the  period  under  review ;  and  of  the  unprecedented 
commotions  and  slaughter  which  shall  follow.  "  Nation  shall  rise 
against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom :  and  there  shall  be 
famines,  and  pestilences,  and  earthquakes  in  diverse  places."  And 
"  all  these  are"  but  the  "  beginning  of  sorrows."  They  are  not 
the  Great  Battle,  but  preliminary  and  preparatory  to  it.  They 
are  the  rallying  and  the  adjusting  of  forces,  and  the  natural  col- 
lisions into  which  the  warring  elements  or  strife  are,  in  the  nature 
of  the  case,  brought.  And  of  the  same  general  character  are  the 
moral  convulsions  of  that  period — the  persecutions,  treacheries, 
betrayals  one  of  another,  apostasies,  and  the  singular  abounding 
of  iniquity.  These  do  but  correspond  with  the  civil  commotions 
that  shall  then  agitate  the  world.  And  both  these  series  of  ter- 
rific agencies  that  shall  shake  terribly  the  earth,  are  controlled  by 
the  Omnipotent  Hand.  They  are  the  dread  agents  of  Heaven 
which  shall  bring  a  sure  and  gradual  yet  a  complete  and  final 
destruction  on  the  wicked ;  and  the  happy  emancipation  and  the 
final  beatification  of  the  righteous.  Hence  it  is  announced  of  the 
King  the  Lord  of  Hosts :  "  The  Lord  shall  utter  his  voice  before 
his  army  ;  for  his  camp  is  very  great :  for  he  is  strong  that  ex- 


266  THE    COMING    CRISES    OP    THE    WORLD. 

ecuteth  his  word :  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  great  and  very  ter- 
rible ;  and  who  can  abide  it  ?  " 

And  in  connection  with  this,  and  in  strange  contrast,  the  gospel 
is  preached  and  great  multitudes  out  of  all  nations  are  converted. 
And  as  things  wax  warm — as  the  two  series  of  antagonistic 
agencies  gather  strength  and  wax  valiant,  and  become  more 
and  more  aggressive,  uncompromising  and  determined  on  con- 
quest, the  great  and  final  conflict  is  hastened  on  apace.  Yet  be- 
fore this,  and  while  the  opposing  powers  of  the  aliens  are  rallying 
yet  more  strongly  and  becoming  more  bold  and  vaunting,  the  rival 
powers  of  truth  and  righteousness  are  rising  and  entrenching 
themselves  more  and  more  firmly  in  the  strongholds  of  the  sancti- 
fied hearts  of  God's  people.  The  Spirit  is  now  poured  out  upon 
all  flesh.  Religion  is  now  signally  revived.  Great  numbers  are 
now  gathered  into  the  fold.  The  graces  of  God's  people  are 
quickened — their  energies  for  useful  activity  are  roused.  Who- 
soever now  "  heareth,"  says  to  his  brother,  "  come."  New  agen- 
cies for  usefulness  are  created,  and  old  ones  are  quickened.  "  Your 
sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  your  old  men  shall  dream 
dreamS;  and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions :  and  also  upon 
the  servants  and  upon  the  handmaids  in  those  days  will  I  pour 
out  my  Spirit."  All  classes,  old  and  young — men  in  all  positions 
of  life,  shall,  each  in  his  own  sphere  and  according  to  the  meas- 
ure of  his  grace  and  gifts,  become  witness  for  his  Lord,  and  a 
living  teacher  of  righteousness  and  the  way  of  peace. 

And  wonderful  in  that  day  shall  be  the  power  of  prayer.  All 
may  then  prove  the  Lord  that  there  is  "  deliverance  in  Zion." 
For  now  "  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
delivered." 

Very  appropriately  is  there  interposed  here  an  exhortation  to 
the  Church  that  she  be  fortified  to  meet  the  trials  that  await  her, 
and  be  prepared  to  receive  the  unwonted  blessings  in  store  for  her, 


REPENTANCE ENCOURAGEMENTS.  267 

and  to  do  the  duties  which  the  times  and  the  privileges  of  the 
times  devolve  upon  her.  First  of  all  thej  must  turn — repent — 
return  to  dutj.  But  how  shall  they  turn  ? — with  what  temper  of 
mind  ?  Their  repentance  must  be  sincere  and  hearty.  "  Tuj-n 
ye  to  me  with  your  whole  heart,  and  with  fasting  an«l  weeping  and 
mourning.  And  rend  your  heart  and  not  your  garments."  And 
this  is  with  the  assurance  that  if  they  repent  and  turn  and  do  their 
first  works,  they  shall  be  accepted :  "  for  he  is  gracious  and  mer- 
ciful, slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  kindness,  and  repenteth  him  of 
the  evil."  Hence  the  Church  is  directed  to  humble  herself  be- 
fore her  God — "  to  sanctify  a  fast,  to  call  a  solemn  assembly,  to 
assemble  priests  and  people- — to  weep  between  the  porch  and  the 
altar — to  pray,  "  Spare  thy  people,  O  Lord,  and  give  not  thine 
heritage  to  reproach,  that  the  heathen  should  rule  over  them: 
wherefore  should  they  say  among  the  people,  Where  is  their 
God?" 

And  what  encouragements  have  the  children  of  God,  that  if,  in 
these  troublous  times,  in  these  times  of  apathy  and  rebuke,  they 
hold  fast  their  integrity,  and  turn  with  full  purpose  of  heart  to  the 
Lord,  and  challenge  the  fulfilment  of  the  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises of  a  living  interest  at  the  throne  of  grace — the  full  reaUzation 
of  the  actual  power  of  prayer — ^followed  up  and  clothed  with 
power  by  a  holy  activity  and  an  acting  faith  which  makes  religion 
a  mighty,  living  reality — what  encouragements,  I  say,  are  here 
held  out  that  the  children  of  God  shall  find  these  very  untoward 
circumstances  to  be  preparing  them  to  realize  a  security  and  pros- 
perity, a  spiritual  plenty  and  unfailing  stability  never  before  en- 
joyed ?  These  are  (vs.  18,  27)  shadowed  forth  in  temporal  bless- 
ings, but  not  the  less  on  this  account  real  in  their  possession.  "  Ye 
shall  eat  in  plenty  and  be  satisfied,  and  praise  the  name  of  the 
Lord  your  God,  that  hath  dealt  wondrously  with  you,  and  my 
people  shall  never  be  ashamed." 


268  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

And  then  shall  follow  the  glorious  period  predicted,  an  earnest 
of  which  was  experienced  under  Peter's  preaching  at  Pentecost, 
the  grand  consummation  of  the  earthy  state  of  the  Church. 
Through  the  dark  cloud  of  that  eventful  day — "  the  wonders  in 
heaven  and  in  earth,  the  blood,  fire  and  pillars  of  smoke,"  the 
darkening  of  the  sun  and  the  moon  turned  into  blood,  as  pre- 
liminary to  the  coming  of  the  "  great  and  terrible  day  of  the 
Lord  " — the  glorious  sun  of  righteousness  shall  arise  and  shine. 
"  And  then  shall  follow  the  wonderful  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
upon  all  flesh ;  '*  of  which  I  have  spoken. 

Two  features  of  our  present  times  seem  to  be  furnishing  a 
fulfilment  of  the  above  quoted  prophecies.  The  first  is  the  ex- 
traordinary military  preparations  of  the  present  day,  together 
with  the  occasional  terrible  outbreaks  of  war ;  and  the  other  is 
the  no  less  extraordinary  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  ex- 
tensive and  powerful  Revivals  of  Religion  of  the  present  time. 

Never  were  the  states  of  Europe  so  much  on  the  alert  in  pre- 
paring all  the  defenses  and  munitions  of  war.  France,  England, 
Austria  and  Russia,  they  scarcely  know  why,  are  creating  a  ma- 
terial for  offensive  and  defensive  warfare  never  before  known. 
Skill,  ingenuity,  science  in  its  present  advanced  state,  Is  now  sin- 
gularly made  to  contribute  to  the  perfection  of  the  art  of  war. 
Other  European  states  are  following  on  in  the  same  course ;  and 
America  is  not  a  stranger  to  that  "  distress  of  nations,  with  per- 
plexity, the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring,"  which  has  led  the  nations 
of  Europe  to  arm  and  fortify  themselves  against  some  apprehended 
danger.  Men's  hearts  fail  them  for  fear  of  the  things  that  are  com- 
ing. And  what  these  things  may  be  we  seem  to  have  some  fearful 
foreboding  in  the  late  outbreak  of  violence  and  insurrection  in  India; 
in  the  carnage  and  slaughter  about  the  walls  of  Sebastapool ;  and 
the  unparalleled  bloodshed  at  Montebello,  Magenta,  and  Solferino. 

And  in  happy  contrast  to  this  the  Spirit  is  poured  out  from  on 


UNWONTED    EFFUSION    OF    THE    BLESSED    SPIRIT.         269 

high,  and  Revivals  of  Religion,  unsurpassed  for  power,  extent 
and  frequency,  have  blessed  Zion  in  all  lands.  In  America,  in 
Ireland,  Scotland,  and  portions  of  England ;  in  Sweden,  France, 
and  in  various  localities  where  Rome  bears  rule,  and  where  the 
Crescent  wanes  ;  and  where  Idolatry  still  has  its  shrines,  the  ever 
blessed  Spirit  has  come  down  in  unwonted  effusion,  and  great 
numbers  of  all  callings  and  conditions,  have  turned  unto  the  Lord. 
The  ranks  of  business  have  been  happily  invaded ;  the  walks  of 
learning  and  the  halls  of  science,  and  the  whole  arena  of  common 
life,  have  been  pei-vaded  by  those  blessed  influences.  The  abun- 
dance of  the  sea  has  been  converted  to  God,  and  the  forces  of 
the  Gentiles,  as  never  before,  have  been  brought  in. 

I  shall  refer  to  but  one  other  of  these  characteristic  bketches 
from  the  Prophets.  It  is  from  the  first  chapter  of  Zephaniah. 
And  there  is  perhaps  nowhere  else  a  more  graphic,  vivid  and 
terrible  description  of  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  for 
which  we  look.  One  will  scarcely  fail  to  notice  a  great  similarity 
of  the  terms  used  by  this  Prophet,  and  those  used  by  the  other 
writers  who  have  described  the  same  scenes.  He  says,  "  The 
great  day  of  the  Lord  is  near,  it  is  near,  and  hasteth  greatly, 
even  the  voice  of  the  day  of  the  Lord ;  the  mighty  man  shall 
cry  out  bitterly.  That  day  is  a  day  of  wrath,  a  day  of  trouble  and 
distress,  a  day  of  wasteness  and  desolation,  a  day  of  darkness  and 
gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness,  a  day  of  the  trum- 
pet and  alarm  against  the  fenced  cities,  and  against  the  high  towers. 
And  I  will  bring  distress  upon  men,  that  they  shall  walk  like 
blind  men,  because  they  have  sinned  against  the  Lord ;  and  their 
blood  shall  be  poured  out  as  dust,  and  their  flesh  as  the  dung. 
Neither  their  silver  nor  their  gold  shall  be  able  to  deliver  them 
in  the  day  of  the  Lord's  wrath ;  but  the  whole  land  shall  be  de- 
voured by  the  fire  of  his  jealousy :  for  he  shall  make  even  a 
speedy  riddance  of  all  them  that  dwell  in  the  land." 


270  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

Then  follows  an  exhortation,  not  unlike  what  is  common  with 
the  prophets — an  exhortation  to  repentance  and  a  sincere  return 
unto  the  Lord ;  if,  peradventure,  they  may  escape  in  that  great 
and  terrible  day.  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord,  all  ye  meek  of  the  earth, 
which  have  wrought  his  judgment ;  seek  righteousness,  seek  meek- 
ness :  it  may  he  ye  shall  he  hid  in  the  day  of  the  LordJs  anger ^ 

The  prophecy  last  quoted  and  the  exhortation  which  follows 
doubtless  has  its  primary  and  partial  fulfilment  in  the  general 
destruction  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans.  But  the 
similarity  of  the  language  and  the  thoughts,  to  those  used  to  de- 
scribe the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  at  a  much  latter  date — ^which 
latter  description,  it  is  generally  conceded,  is  applied  to  describe 
the  last  conflict  and  destruction  at  the  end  of  the  world  or  the 
dispensation — seems  to  warrant  the  application  we  have  made  of 
it  here. 

We  need  only  add,  that  already  have  we  more  than  sustained 
our  general  position,  that  the  final  and  glorious  establishment  of 
the  reign  of  truth  and  righteousness  in  our  world  shall  be  pre- 
ceded by  a  great  "  falling  away  " — that  the  prevalence  of  univer- 
sal Peace  shall  come  through  grievous  wars,  and  a  great  and  final 
conflict — that  Immanuel's  reign  on  the  earth  shall  be  established 
in  troublous  times.  The  Sun  of  righteousness  shall  arise  through 
clouds  and  darkness.  Thunderings  and  lightnings,  earthquakes 
and  storms,  shall  attend  the  advent  of  that  kingdom  of  Peace 
and  righteousness  which  shall  ere  long  bless  the  earth. 

The  conflict  is  ended ;  Christ  has  conquered.  Great  Babylon 
has  fallen ;  her  ruin  is  complete.  "  A  mighty  angel  took  up  a 
stone  like  a  great  millstone  and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus 
with  violence  shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down,  and 
shall  be  found  no  more  at  all."  "  And  after  these  things  I  heard 
a  great  voice  of  much  people  in  heaven,  saying.  Alleluia ;  salva- 
tion, and  glory,  and  honor,  and  power,  unto  the  Lord  our  God ;  for 


THE  RUIN  AND  FALL  OF  BABYLON.  271 

true  and  righteous  are  his  judgments  :  for  he  hath  judged  the 
great  whore,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  with  her  fornication, 
and  hath  avenged  the  blood  of  his  servants  at  her  hand.  And 
again  they  said,  Alleluia,  and  the  smoke  rose  up  for  ever  and  ever. 
And  a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying,  Praise  our  God,  all 
ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear  him,  both  small  and  great.  And 
I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  as  the  voice 
of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying, 
Alleluia ;  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth.  Let  us  be  glad 
and  give  honor  to  him,  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come, 
and  his  wife  hath  made  herself  ready.  And  to  her  was  granted 
that  she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and  white :  for  the 
fine  linen  is  the  righteousness  of  the  saints.  And  he  saith  unto 
me.  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are  called  to  the  marriage- 
supper  of  the  Lamb.     And  he  saith  unto  me,  These  are  the 

TRUE    SAYINGS    OP    GOD." 


•lof!^  gi  ml 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Zechariah,  14th  chapter,  and  its  utterances. 

I  HAVE  selected  this  chapter  for  the  sake  of  considering,  in 
the  connection  we  find  them,  certain  great  events  which  we  look 
for  as  future,  and  probably  not  distantly  future,  and  which  are  the 
great  events  of  prophecy.  The  chapter  is  a  very  extraordinary 
one.  It  clusters  together,  in  the  space  of  a  few  short  paragraphs, 
a  series  of  events  of  the  most  thrilling  interest ;  events  which 
seem  hastening  on  apace.  The  wise  will  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times  and  prepare  for  the  great  and  final  consummation. 

It  is  good  to  stir  up  our  minds  to  greater  diligence  in  the  work 
of  our  Divine  Master.  If  he  is  shortening  the  time  and  hasten- 
ing his  work,  it  behooves  his  people,  as  co-workers  with  him,  to 
set  their  hearts  to  the  work  with  a  renewed  diligence ;  to  pray 
more  earnestly,  to  give  more  liberally,  and  work  more  circum- 
spectly, provoking  one  another  to  love  and  good  works ;  and  so 
much  the  more  as  ye  see  the  day  approaching. 

I  shall  speak  of  these  events  in  the  order  in  which  they  here 
occur.  And  I  shall  speak  of  them  2&  future.  Whatever  partial 
fulfilments  they  may  have  had,  we  feel  shut  up  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  whole,  at  least  in  their  principal  and  final  fulfilment,  are 
future. 

(  272  ) 


LOCALITY    OF    THE    COMING    CONFLICT.  273 

I.  The  great  Battle  which  shall  precede  and  usher  in  the  em- 
pire of  peace  and  righteousness  which  shall  follow.  "  Behold, 
the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  and  thy  spoil  shall  be  divided  in 
the  midst  of  thee.  For  I  will  gather  all  nations  against  Jerusa- 
lem to  battle  ;  and  the  city  shall  be  taken,  and  the  houses  rifled, 
and  the  women  ravished ;  and  half  of  the  city  shall  go  forth  into 
captivity,  and  the  residue  of  the  people  shall  not  be  cut  off  from 
the  city.  Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth,  and  fight  against  those 
nations,  as  when  he  fought  in  the  day  of  battle." 

We  shall  not  add  here  to  what  has  already  been  said  of  the 
great  and  coming  conflict.  The  Prophet  would  here  seem  to 
determine  its  locality,  in  the  Holy  Land,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Jerusalem.  It  shall  be  a  dreadful  conflict,  and  a  decisive  one. 
The  Lord  shall  appear,  in  his  great  power  and  by  mighty  judg- 
ments, to  discomfit  the  foe  and  to  give  the  victory  to  his  people. 
By  what  providential  arrangements  the  two  great  contending 
armies  shall  meet  in  that  loc^ity,  and  there  decide  the  great 
question  which  has  so  long  kept  the  world  at  strife,  we  do  not 
know.  The  oracle  is  silent — or  at  least  speaks  not  in  language 
sufficiently  distinct.  It  may  be  that  the  present  movements  of 
Russian  agents  in  Palestine,are  laying  a  trail  which  ere  long  shall 
set  on  fire  the  warring  elements  of  the  nations  and  hasten  on  the 
final  conflict.  Gog,  and  the  people  of  Gog,  are  said  to  be  there 
industriously  negotiating  for  lands,  and  forming  settlements  which 
may  become  matters  of  jealousy  with  the  nations  of  western 
Europe,  and  lead  to  the  concentration  of  hostile  armies,  and  a 
final  conflict  in  a  land  which  has  hitherto  often  been  the  "  valley 
of  Decision  "  to  the  nations  of  the  earth.  We  wait  the  utter- 
ances of  future  events ;  when  all  shall  be  made  plain  and  easy.* 

*  I  have  already  quoted  Dr.  Macgowan,  a  resident  at  Jerusalem,  as  touching  tlie  ex- 
traordinary change  which  has  already  come  over  the  Holy  City,  it  having  become  the 

18 


274  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

Whether  there  are,  as  we  believe,  good  reasons  for  assigning 
such  a  locality  to  the  Great  Battle,  there  seems  no  lack  of  allu- 
sions and  declarations  in  the  divine  predictions,  which  imply  that 
Jerusalem  and  the  Holy  Land  are  destined  to  occupy  a  position 
and  to  enjoy  a  prominence  in  the  coming  golden  age  of  the  world, 
the  glory  of  which  shall  surpass  any  thing  the  world  has  yet 
seen.     Hence  the  next  event  alluded  to  in  the  chapter,  viz. ; 

II.  The  coming  of  the  King  to  vindicate  his  friends,  to  decide 
the  combat,  and  take  vengeance  on  his  foes.  "  Then  shall  the 
Lord  go  forth,  and  fight  against  those  nations,  as  when  he  fought 
in  the  day  of  battle."  The  King  does  not  come  to  the  rescue  till 
Jerusalem  is  environed  with  the  armies  of  the  aliens,  and  the 
"  city  is  taken,  and  the  houses  rifled,  and  the  women  ravished ; 
and  half  the  city  gone  into  captivity  " — not  till  the  encounter  be- 
comes desperate — not  till  their  strength  is  clear  gone,  and  from  the 
depths  of  their  helplessness  they  cry  for  succor. 

What  shall  be  the  mode  of  this  dreadful  manifestation  we  do 
not  profess  to  define.  Judgments,  pestilence  and  disease  are  at 
his  command,  and  he  wields  them  as  he  will.  He  may,  as  he  did 
before  the  vaunting  army  of  Sennacherib,  pass  before  them  as  the 
angel  of  death ;  then  an  hundred  and  four  score  thousand  were 
in  a  moment  prostrated  in  death.  He  has  only  to  "  breathe  in 
the  face  of  the  foe  as  they  pass,"  and  they  are  no  more. 

Awful,  indeed,  are  the  visions  the  prophets  had  of  this  great 
and  final  conflict.  We  will  cite  but  a  single  one.  It  is  the  vision 
of  the  son  of  Amoz.     He  summons  the  world  to  come  and  see 


resort  of  the  wealthy  and  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  and  magnificent  buildings  being 
erected.    A  correspondent  from  Syria,  too,  says: 

"  Jerusalem  has  been  making  rapid  strides  of  late  towards  a  new-bom  civilization,  and 
its  progress  has  been  watched  with  interest  the  most  intense,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
associate  with  the  name  of  the  Holy  City  ideas  of  the  Millennium  and  the  speedy  return 
of  the  Jews.  Large  buildings,  convents,  hospitals,  and  churches  are  rising  in  every  di- 
rection, and  thousands  of  Russian  employees  and  Jews  are  becoming  residents  of  the 
place." 


COMING   OF   THE   PRINCE.  275 

what  desolations  the  Lord  hath  made  in  the  earth :  "  Come  near, 
ye  nations,  to  hear ;  and  hearken,  ye  people ;  let  the  earth  hear, 
and  all  that  is  therein ;  the  world,  and  all  that  come  forth  of  it. 
For  the  indignation  of  the  Lord  is  upon  all  nations,  and  his  fury 
upon  all  their  armies ;  he  hath  utterly  destroyed  them,  he  hath 
delivered  them  to  the  slaughter.  Their  slain  also  shall  be  cast 
out — and  the  mountains  shall  be  melted  with  their  blood.  My 
sword  shall  be  bathed  in  blood ;  behold,  it  shall  come  down  upon 
Idumea,  and  upon  the  people  of  my  curse,  to  judgment.  The 
sword  of  the  Lord  is  filled  with  blood ;  it  is  made  fat  with  fatness ; 
for  the  Lord  hath  a  sacrifice  in  Bozrah,  and  a  great  slaughter  in 
Idumea.  For  it  is  the  day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance,  and  the  year  of 
recompense  for  Zion."  "  For  behold,  the  Lord  cometh  out  of  his 
place  to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity ;  the 
earth  also  shall  disclose  her  blood,  and  shall  no  more  cover  her 
slain." 

in.  There  is  something  yet  more  remarkable  in  regard  to  the 
manner  of  the  coming  of  the  Prince,  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  and  not 
only  in  the  deliverance  already  wrought,  but  in  the  singular  pro- 
vision here  made  for  the  immediate  protection  of  his  beleaguered 
people.  "  His  feet  shall  stand  on  the  mount  of  Olives."  Whether 
this  be  literal  or  highly  figurative  I  am  not  sure.  In  either  case 
it  indicates  an  extraordinary  if  not  a  personal  manifestation  of 
Clirist,  for  the  discomfiture  of  his  enemies,  and  the  reassurance 
and  triumph  of  his  friends.  The  jilace — overlooking  Jerusalem, 
the  arena  of  the  great  and  dreadful  contest,  and  the  spot  where 
his  feet  last  trod  as  he  left  the  scene  of  his  former  conflict  and 
ascended  on  high — and  the  extraordinary  physical  change  which 
now  takes  place  in  leveling  this  mountain  and  producing  a  great 
plain,  cannot  fail  to  invest  the  whole  scene  with  a  singular  signifi- 
cance and  sublimity.  "  The  mount  of  Olives  shall  cleave  in  the 
midst  thereof  towards  the  east  and  towai-ds  the  west,  there  shall 


276  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

be  a  very  great  valley  ;  and  half  of  the  mountain  shall  remove 
towards  the  north,  and  half  towards  the  south." 

By  some  extraordinary  means  or  supernatural  agency,  this 
mountain  was  cleaved  asunder  and  removed  out  of  its  place,  and 
turned  into  a  great  plain ;  and  this  for  the  more  immediate  pur- 
pose, it  would  seem,  of  affording  an  asylum  and  protection  to  the 
people  of  God.  For  it  is  added,  ''  ye  shall  flee  to  the  valley  of 
the  mountains."  They  shall  flee  to  this  retreat  as  men  flee  from 
the  desolations  of  an  earthquake.  Possibly  this  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  representing  a  refuge  to  which  the  women,  children  and 
the  mass  of  the  people  shall  seek,  as  an  asylum  in  that  day  of 
dreadful  carnage. 

IV.  We  have  the  introduction  of  the  new  order  of  things 
which  shall  follow  the  triumph  of  the  Church — what  it  shall  be 
— and  what  relation  Jerusalem,  and  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  nat- 
ural descendants  of  Abraham,  shall  hold  to  this  new  kingdom. 

1.  The  "  latter-day  glory  "  shall  not  be  "  ushered  in,"  as  many 
seem  to  suppose,  as  if  the  fully  risen  sun  should  in  an  instant  break 
in  upon  the  midnight  darkness.  It  shall  come  as  the  morning — 
shall  have  its  dawn  and  twilight.  In  its  incipient  stages  it  shall 
exhibit  no  doubtful  marks  of  the  moral  splendor  which  shall  char- 
acterize that  blessed  period ;  yet  that  brightness  shall  be  parti- 
ally obscured.  Clouds,  generated  from  the  putrid  waters  of  by- 
gone ages,  and  still  partially  surcharged  with  the  miasma  of  the 
old  corruption,  shall,  for  a  little  time,  mar  the  beauty  of  the  new 
heavens.  Yet  by  and  by  these  lingering  mists  shall  pass  away, 
and  the  unobstructed,  free-orbed  Sun  of  Righteousness  shall  arise 
with  unrestricted  healing  in  his  beams. 

The  description  we  have  here,  of  this  intermediate  or  twilight 
period,  is  worthy  remark.  As  the  "  fire  and  hail  and  vapor  of 
smoke,"  produced  by  the  great  battle,  clears  away,  the  eventful 
morning  is  thus  described :  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that 


BLESSINGS    REPRESENTED    BY   LIVING    WATERS.  277 

day,  that  the  light  shall  not  be  clear,  nor  dark,  but  it  shall  be  one 
day  which  shall  be  known  to  the  Lord,  not  day,  nor  night :  but  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  at  evening-time  it  shall  he  lightr  This 
mixed,  transition  period  shall  not  be  long ;  and  the  close — the  even- 
ing of  this  short  intermediate  day,  shall  be  an  unobscured  bright- 
ness. Its  sun  shall  not  set,  but  shall  seem  to  be  lost  in  the  greater 
effulgence  of  the  fully  risen  Millennial  day. 

2.  We  notice  what  is  here  said  of  some  of  the  characteristics 
of  this  glorious  period  when  it  shall  be  fully  revealed.  The  figure 
is  now  changed.  The  symbol  is  no  longer  light^  but  water,  or  the 
fertilizing  streams:  The  great  moral  transformation  we  have 
seen  effected — the  regime  established — the  kingdom  of  Grod,  the 
reign  of  righteousness,  begun.  And  now  we  are  told  what  are 
some  of  its  characteristics.  But  two  are  specified.  These,  how- 
ever, are  very  comprehensive.  The  one  relates  to  the  blessings 
of  that  heaven-favored  era;  and  the  other,  to  the  universality 
and  unity  of  this  coming  kingdom,  as  under  the  supreme  kingship 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — Jerusalem,  the  centre  of  all  authority, 
and  the  grand  fountain  of  divine  influences  for  the  rest,  peace,  and 
purification  of  all  nations. 

The  blessings  are  represented  by  "  Living  waters  going  out 
from  Jerusalem  ;  half  of  them  towards  the  former  sea,  and  half 
of  them  towards  the  hinder  sea  :  in  summer  and  in  winter  shall  it 
he."  These  are  the  waters  which  Ezekiel  saw  "  issue  out  from 
under  the  threshold  of  the  house  eastward" — deepening  and 
widening  as  they  go,  carrying  health  and  fertility  in  all  their 
course.  Trees  of  life  grow  on  either  side,  yielding  their  fruit 
every  month,  and  their  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
"  Whithersoever  the  river  cometh  every  thing  shall  live."  These 
are,  wherever  they  flow,  the  waters  of  life  —  the  life-giving 
waters.  John  the  Revelator,  in  describing  the  same  thing,  says : 
"  And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 


278  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the 
midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there 
the  tree  of  life,  which  bear  twelve  manner  of  fruits." 

The  same  waters  which  John  saw  proceed  out  of  the  throne  of 
God  and  the  Lamb,  Ezekiel  saw  issue  out  from  under  the  thresh- 
old of  the  eastern  gate  of  the  Temple.  Zechariah  saw  the  same 
"  go  out  from  Jerusalem."  Joel  saw  the  same  living  fountain 
"  come  forth  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  water  the  whole  val- 
ley of  Shittim."  *  These  are  "  the  rivers  of  Judah, "  which  flow 
down  from  the  hills  of  salvation.  "  The  mountains  shall  drop 
down  new  wine,  and  the  hills  flow  with  milk ; "  all  beautifully 
descriptive  of  the  living  waters  which  flow  out  from  the  great 
Fountain  of  the  Divine  Beneficence. 

The  three  grand  periods  in  the  history  of  Redemption  are 
here  described :  viz.,  the  Tabernacle  or  Wilderness  state  of  the 
Church,  the  Temple  or  Millennial  state,  and  the  New  Jerusalem 
or  Heavenly  state. 

In  the  first  of  these  periods,  the  living  waters  issue  out  from 
under  the  threshold  of  the  house,  and  go  down  through  the  desert, 
and  make  all  to  live  wherever  they  flow.  And  they  pour  their 
healing  streams  into  the  Dead  Sea,  and  its  stagnant,  putrid  waters 
are  healed.  It  is  the  fountain  that  was  open  to  the  "  house  of 
David,  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  for  sin  and  for  unclean- 

*  Shittim  was  a  valley  in  the  land  of  Moab  (whose  king  was  Balak),  where  the  children 
of  Israel  a  lon^  time  dwelt  before  they  entered  the  Promised  Land — where  they  fell  into 
gross  sin  by  committing  whoredom  with  the  daughters  of  Moab — where  Baalam  came  to 
corse  Israel,  and  went  away  blessing  them— where  Moses,  having  rehearsed  the  history  of 
God's  dealings  with  his  people,  and  repeated,  and  re-enjoined  upon  them  the  law,  went  up 
into  Mount  Nebo  and  died — where  Joshua  received  the  command  of  the  Lord's  host,  and 
thence  led  them  into  Gaanan.  It  was  to  Israel  an  epitome  of  the  world — where  they  had 
rejoiced,  where  they  had  suffered,  where  they  had  been  humbled,  where  honored,  where 
oppressed,  where  delivered.  In  relation  to  Israel,  Shittim  was  an  eminent  spiritual  des- 
olation. Well,  then,  is  it  used  here  to  represent  the  desert  world  over  which  should 
course  the  waters  of  life  as  they  flow  out  from  the  Fountain  open  in  Judah  and  Jcru- 
Balem. 


EMANCIPATION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  279 

ness."  Wherever  this  river  flows,  trees  of  righteousness  abound 
on  its  banks,  green  and  ever  laden  with  fruit.  It  is  everywhere 
the  signal  of  life,  social,  civil  and  religious.  Industry,  enterprise, 
thrift,  give  signs  of  coming  prosperity.  Mind  is  emancipated — 
thought  set  free,  and  urged  on  to  the  fulfilment  of  its  mission  in 
the  work  of  human  progress.  Increase  of  knowledge,  the  pur- 
suits of  science,  inventions,  discoveries,  commerce,  a  high  type 
of  civilization,  all  follow  in  their  train.  And  more  than  all  and 
better  than  all,  civil  freedom,  a  sterner  morality,  and  a  purer 
religion,  are  the  statelier  trees  which  flourisli  on  the  banks  of  these 
streams. 

And  this  process  of  spiritual  irrigation  shall  go  on  till  this  whole 
desert  world  shall  become  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord — ti-ees  of 
righteousness  shall  everywhere  flourisli ;  "  the  wilderness  and 
the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them,  and  the  desert  shall 
rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  It  shall  blossom  abundantly, 
and  rejoice  even  with  joy  and  singing."  The  River  which  P^zek- 
iel  saw^  issue  out  from  beneath  the  threshold  of  the  house,  has 
widened,  and  deepened,  and  spread  itself  over  the  whole  desert 
world,  and  now  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ. 

Here  commences  the  second  grand  period.  The  Church  is 
now  emancipated — the  usurper  of  the  dominion  of  this  world  is 
vanquished — the  rightful  proprietor  has  "  come  to  his  own,"  and 
taken  possession.  The  wilderness  state  is  passed — the  Jordan 
is  crossed,  and  the  Promised  Land  is  entered — deliverance  from 
the  enemy  and  enlargement  to  the  rightful  heirs.  Or,  to  resume 
our  figure,  living  waters  now  go  out  from  Jerusalem.  "  Out  of 
Zion  now  goes  forth  the  law  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Je- 
rusalem." And  now  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  Lord  is  King 
over  all  the  earth :  there  is  "  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one." 

Already,  in  a  subordinate  sense  and  as  prefiguring  what  at 


280  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OP   THE    WORLD. 

the  period  in  question  is  fully  realized,  "'  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  had  been  preached  among  all  nations,  heginning  at  Je- 
rusalem.^*  From  that  appointed  centre  ''  the  sound  had  gone  out 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth."  And'  here  too  the  Holy  Spirit  had 
come  down,  and  entered  on  his  Mission  for  the  renovation  of  the 
world.  Yet  all  this  was  but  an  earnest  or  pledge  of  what  should 
be  in  the  "  last  days."  It  was  then  SiloanCs  brook  that  ran  fast 
by  the  oracles  of  God ;  but  it  is  now  the  River  that  flows  out 
from  Jerusalem  and  bears  on  its  current,  to  earth's  remotest  bounds, 
Heaven's  richest  boon  to  man. 

From  Jerusalem,  the  grand  Repository  of  divine  influences, 
the  living  waters  go  out  toward  the  former,  and  to  the  hinder  sea 
— -from  sea  to  sea — in  one  rich,  unfailing  current.  "  In  winter 
and  in  summer  they  shall  be."  No  summer's  drought,  no  winter's 
cold  can  arrest  or  retard  their  generous  flow.  As  the  waters  cover 
the  sea,  so  shall  the  knowledge  of  God  cover  the  whole  earth. 

But  there  remains  another  period  in  the  dispensation  of  grace 
— or  rather  a  period  when  grace  shall  be  finished  and  glory  be  be- 
gun. It  is  the  heavenly  state ;  when  "  the  pure  river  of  water  of 
life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeds  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb ;"  when  from  the  grand  metropolis  of  Heaven,  the  Mount 
Zion  above,  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  shall  go  forth  the 
law,  and  all  the  thrones  and  dominions,  the  principalities  and 
powers  of  the  heavenly  estate  shall  fall  down  and  worship  before 
him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  and  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever. 
And  a  great  multitude  which  no  man  can  number,  of  all  nations, 
and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  shall  stand  before  the 
throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  in  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands ;  and  they  ascribe  all  honor  and  power,  thanksgiving 
and  praise  unto  him  that  loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins,  in 
his  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and 


MAGNIFICENCE    OF   THE    COMING   JERUSALEM.  281 

his  Father;  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion,  forever  and  ever. 
Amen. 

But  there  arises  under  this  general  head  yet  another  inquiry : 
it  is — 

3.  What  relation  shall  Jerusalem,  and  the  Holy  Land,  and 
the  natural  descendants  of  Abraham  hold  to  the  new  kingdom  ? 
We  have  more  than  intimated  that  Jerusalem  shall  be  the  great 
religious  metropolis  of  the  world,  the  radiating  point  of  divine 
influences — ^morally  at  least,  the  throne  of  the  "  King,  the  Lord 
of  hosts,"  whom  the  nations  shall  "  go  up  from  year  to  year  to 
worship."  As  Jerusalem  shall  be  the  great  battle-field,  on  which 
the  last  great  decisive  victory  shall  be  won,  so  shall  she  become 
the  great  religious  centre  of  the  Millennial  kingdom.  And,  as 
might  be  expected,  we  have,  in  prophetic  vision,  certain  intima- 
tions as  to  the  dimensions  and  magnificence  of  the  coming  Jerusa- 
lem which  demand  attention.  Singular  changes  are  intimated, 
both  in  relation  to  the  present  site  of  Jerusalem,  and  for  several 
miles  around.  We  have  seen  one  marvellous  change  effected  in 
the  cleaving  asunder,  and  the  removing  to  the  north  and  the  south 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  so  forming  a  plain.  In  like  manner 
the  Prophet  says,  "  all  the  land  shall  be  turned  as  a  plain,  from 
Geba  to  Rimmon,  south  of  Jerusalem ;  and  it  shall  be  lifted  up, 
and  inhabited.  .  .  .  And  men  shall  dwell  in  it,  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  utter  destruction ;  but  Jerusalem  shall  be  safely  inhabited." 

Precisely  what  these  changes  shall  be  we  may  not  conjecture. 
Most  obviously  the  dimensions  of  the  ancient  city  shall  be  extend- 
ed beyond  any  former  boundaries.  The  whole  of  the  Holy  Land 
known  as  Judea,  from  Gibeah  on  the  north  to  Rimmon  on  the 
south,  a  distance  of  several  miles,  shall  be  leveled  and  prepared 
for  the  purposes  of  building  and  a  high  order  of  cultivation,  that 
it  shall  be,  as  it  were,  but  one  great,  extended  city,  with  its 
suburbs,  over   this   large   extent  of  country.      Whether  these 


282  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

changes  shall  be  eiFected  by  extraordinary  or  miraculous  means, 
or  simply  by  the  skill  and  power  of  man,  we  cannot  affirm.  The 
way  mountains  are  now  made  low  and  valleys  exalted — the  way 
man  is  already  overcoming  the  most  formidable  natural  obstacles, 
and  harnessing  to  the  chariot-wheels  of  human  progress,  some  of, 
the  mightiest  powers  of  nature,  do  but  too  plainly  indicate  the 
extent  of  any  future  changes  we  may  anticipate. 

The  description  before  us  indicates  an  extent  and  magnificence 
of  the  city,  and  a  degree  of  security,  comfort,  elevation  and  gen- 
eral prosperity  which  the  Millennial  state  at  once  presupposes. 
But  the  extent  of  the  city,  great  as  it  is,  does  not  seem  improb- 
able, when  we  take  into  the  account  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 
It  shall  be  the  great  Metropolis — exceeding  populous — and  the 
spot  above  all  others  on  the  earth  where  the  great  and  the  good 
will  choose  the  place  of  their  habitation.  Kings,  princes,  and 
the  great  ones  of  the  earth  will  bring  here  their  riches  arid  their 
honors.  In  the  vision  of  the  Jerusalem  of  that  day,  the  prophet 
saw  the  sons  of  strangers  coming  to  build  up  her  walls  ;  and  theii* 
kings  to  minister  to  her."  "  The  Isles  wait  for  her,  and  the  ships 
of  Tarshish  first,  to  bring  thy  sons  from  far,  their  silver  and  their 
gold  with  them,  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  because  he  hath  glorified  iheeP  It  shall  be 
the  favorite  resort  of  travelers,  and  a  choice  place  of  habitation, 
because  God  hath  put  such  honor  on  Jerusalem  and  made  it  a  de- 
lightsome place.  A  single,  brief  description  indicates  its  extraor- 
dinary beauty  and  grandeur ;  "  the  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  be 
given  to  it,  the  fir-tree,  the  pine-tree,  and  the  box  together,  to 
beautify  the  place  of  my  sanctuary ;  and  I  will  make  the  place 
of  my  feet  glorious." 

When  we  consider  the  exceeding  populousness  of  the  city,  in 
connection  with  the  wealth  and  taste,  high  civilization  and  the  in- 
creased wants  of  the  citizens,  we  shall  not  be  surprised  at  the 


THE   NEW   KINGDOM.  283 

extent  of  ground  covered  by  the  city.  The  gardens,  orchards, 
and  ornamental  grounds  of  a  few,  now  occupy  more  space  than 
thousands  once  did  in  their  haunts  of  poverty  and  vice ;  in  their 
dirt  and  degradation. 

But  the  natural  descendants  of  Abraham,  what  relation  shall 
they  hold  to  the  new  kingdom  ?  Here  we  may  not  safely  indulge 
in  details.  Restored  again  to  the  favor  of  their  covenant  God, 
and  to  the  land  given  them  for  an  everlasting  possession,  and  to 
their  position  as  the  first-bom  of  the  Father,  and  to  all  the  pecu- 
liar promises  and  privileges  implied  ;  and  occupying,  as  they  do, 
so  advantageous  a  position  as  a  central,  metropolitan  province 
of  Immanuel's  Empire  on  earth,  the  conjecture  would  seem  safe 
that  they  will  hold  an  honored,  and  a  very  prominent  place  in 
the  new  kingdom.  This  would  seem  but  to  correspond  with  the 
prominence  assigned  to  them  as  agents  in  the  work  of  bringing 
in  this  kingdom.  "If,"  says  Paul,  "the  casting  away  of  them 
be  the  reconciling  of  the  world  " — if  this  were  used  as  a  leading, 
efficient  agency  in  the  early  propagation  of  Christianity — "  what 
shall  the  receiving  of  them  be  but  life  from  the  dead  f  And 
we  seem  to  have  mere  than  a  hint  of  the  future  prominence  of 
the  ancient  Seed  in  the  visions  of  the  Prophets.  Isaiah  speaks, 
but  in  clearer  terms,  the  language  of  them  all.  When  he  sees 
the  ancient  Zion  "  rise  "  in  her  renewed  splendor,  and  shine,"  be- 
cause "  her  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon 
her,"  he  saw  the  "  Gentiles  come  to  her  light,  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  her  rising."  "  Lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and 
see;  all  they  gather  themselves  together,  they  come  to  thee.  .  .  Then 
thou  shalt  see,  and  flow  together,  and  thy  heart  shall  fear,  and  be 
enlarged ;  because  the  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted 
unto  thee,  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee."  And 
they  shall  come  from  Midian  and  Ephah,  from  Kedar  and  Leba 
(from  different  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa),  and  from  the  "  Isles 


284  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    TKE    WORLD. 

of  the  sea  "  (the  present  Europe  and  America)  ;  and  they  shall 
bring  gold  and  incense,  and  they  shall  show  forth  the  praises  of 
the  Lordr  The  latter  expression  would  seem  to  indicate  the 
ol^ect  of  their  gathering  together,  viz.,  the  service  of  God,  the 
worship  of  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts :  referring  either  to  the 
occasional  worship  of  the  multitudes  who,  as  representative  wor- 
shippers, shall  come  up  ^rom  year  to  year  to  worship  the  King  and 
to  keep  the  feasts  of  Tabernacles ;  or  to  the  more  permanent 
religious  services,  and  privileges  which  they  shall  enjoy  who  shall 
choose  their  habitations  in  or  about  the  Holy  City. 

But  I  anticipate  my  next  particular : 

V.  That  the  Gentiles  shall  largely  participate  with  restored 
Israel  in  serving  God  at  Jerusalem,  as  they  shall,  by  their  repre- 
sentatives, at  least,  come  up  year  by  year,  to  worship  and  to  keep 
the  feast  of  Tabernacles.  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  that  every  one 
that  is  left  of  all  the  nations  that  come  against  Jerusalem,  shall 
even  go  up  from  year  to  year  to  worship  the  King,  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  and  to  keep  the  feast  of  Tabernacles.  And  whoso  will  not 
come  up  unto  Jerusalem  to  worship  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
even  upon  them  shall  be  no  rain."  A  remnant  of  all  those  na- 
tions and  great  confederacies  which  fought  at  Jerusalem  against 
the  true  Israel,  shall  be  converted  to  Christ,  and  become  the  loyal 
subjects  of  the  King.  And  the  two  great  antichristian  powers 
(the  Roman  and  the  Greek)  being  overcome  and  their  regime 
destroyed,  the  remnant  that  survive  the  slaughter,  together  with 
the  Gentiles  who  shall  be  converted,  shall  go  up  from  year  to 
year  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and 
to  keep  the  feast  of  Tabernacles. 

Yet  I  do  not  understand  that  the  whole  body  of  believers  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  shall  appear  before  the  Lord  to  worship  at 
Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  this  feast.  But  Jerusalem  being  the 
place  where  God  has  put  his  name,  "  the  city  of  the  Great  King" 


FEAST    OF    THE    TABERNACLES.  285 

— "  the  city  of  Truth,  the  mountain  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  holy 
mountain  " — "  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth,"  devout  men  of  every 
nation  will  love  to  resort  thither.  And  when,  as  in  the  days  of 
Millennial  prosperity,  opulence  and  leisure,  men  shall  be  abun- 
dantly able  to  travel,  and  when  from  the  yet  vastly  increased 
facilities  for  locomotion  and  communication,  and  from  the  central 
position  of  Jerusalem,  an  excursion  to  the  Holy  City  shall  be  both 
quick  and  easy,  it  is  not  difficult  to  believe  that  great  multitudes 
will  annually  resort  thither,  drawn  by  the  great  natural,  social, 
intellectual,  and  especially  the  religious  attractions  of  the  Holy 
City.  And  ships  of  Tarshish,  the  Great  Eastern,  possibly,  the 
first  of  the  class,  may  convey  them  thither. 

The  idea  here  presented  of  a  great  religious  centre  in  the  days 
of  earth's  great  blessedness,  seems  but  a  common  dictate  of  natu- 
ral religion — I  would  rather  say  a  dictate  of  Divine  Wisdom. 
Every  great  form  of  religion  has  had  its  centre.  As  far  back  as 
history  reaches,  Jerusalem  was  such  a  centre.  Before  Abraham 
was,  Melchisedec  brought  his  offerings,  and  worshipped  at  Salem. 
And  yet  earlier,  Mount  Moriah  had  been  holy  ground ;  and  in  all 
succeeding  generations,  Jerusalem  has  been  the  Holy  City.  The 
Mohammedans  have  their  Mecca,  and  theHPapists  their  Rome. 
And  in  no  one  thing,  perhaps,  has  the  religious  instinct  of  man 
more  distinctly  harmonized  than  in  the  idea  of  a  religious  cen- 
tralization in  some  particular  spot. 

But  here  we  need  to  say  a  word  in  relation  to  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles.     Shall  it  be  perpetuated  ?  and  why  ?  and  how  ? 

This  was  the  feast  of  ingathering,  the  annual  thanksgiving  occa- 
sion among  the  Jews,  observed  in  commemoration  of  the  sojourn  of 
the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness.  It  was  typical  of  Christ  dwelling 
in  our  nature — tabernacling  in  the  flesh — and  as  such  it  was  one 
of  the  most  interesting  and  solemn  feasts  of  the  Jews.  It  was 
at  this  feast  that  they  expected  the  Messiah  would  appear     Hence 


286  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

the  expression  in  the  Psalm  (11 8th)  which  was  sung  on  this  occa-  * 
sion :  "  Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
And  Christ  did  in  a  special  sense  make  his  first  public  manifesta- 
tion at  the  time  of  this  feast.  He  now  entered  Jerusalem  in  tri- 
umph, the  multitude  strewing  branches  of  palm-trees  in  the  way 
before  him,  and  singing  the  triumphal  song  of  that  occasion,  and 
applying  to  Him  the  words  of  the  Psalmist :  "  Blessed  is  He  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  Hosanna  in  the  highest." 

What  then  can  be  more  befitting  the  Church  of  Christ  when 
she  shall  have  received  her  King,  and  she  shall  appear  in  her 
glory,  than  the  observance  in  all  coming  time  of  a  festival  which 
shall  commemorate  the  incarnation  of  her  Lord  and  his  triumph 
and  glorification  in  the  redeeming  work  ?  This  shall  be  the  great 
THANKSGIVING  occasiou  of  the  Church  Universal  for  the  gift 
of  that  LIVING  BREAD  which  came  down  from  heaven.  And  we 
can  conceive  of  no  possible  occasion  that  might  so  properly  and 
naturally  draw  out  the  universal  feeling  of  the  whole  Church, 
and  be  such  a  bond  of  union  to  all,  and  to  present  motives  strong 
enough  to  induce  all  men  everywhere  to  assemble  (representatively 
at  least)  in  one  place  to  observe  such  a  festival ;  and  we  can  see 
no  place  so  suitable,or  so  probable  as  Jerusalem,  the  "  city  of  the 
Great  King,"  "  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth." 

VI.  But  the  Prophet  has  not  here  overlooked  the  complete  and 
dreadful  overthrow,  and  the  utter  destruction  of  the  finally  incor- 
rigible, especially  of  the  army  of  the  aliens,  who  fought  against 
Jerusalem — i.  e.,  all  who  in  the  last  great  Battle  fought  against 
the  true  Church — who  acknowledge  not  the  Messiah,  and  come 
not  up  to  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles :  "  And  it  shall  be  that  whoso 
will  not  come  up  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth  unto  Jerusalem 
to  worship  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  even  upon  them  shall  be  no 
rain."  "  And  this  shall  be  the  plague  wherewith  the  Lord  shall 
smite  all  the  people  that  have  fought  against  Jerusalem:  their  flesh 


EARTHLY    CONDITION    OF    THE    CHURCH.  287 

shall  consume  away  while  they  stand  upon  their  feet,  and  their 
eyes  shall  consume  away  in  their  holes,  and  their  tongue  shall 
consume  away  in  their  mouth." 

So  complete  and  dreadful  shall  be  the  desti-uction  of  the  wicked. 
When  the  time  of  visitation  shall  come,  the  Lord  shall  arise  in 
his  wrath  and  take  vengeance  on  all  that  have  lifted  up  the  hand 
against  him ;  and  he  shall  destroy  them  with  an  utter  destruction. 
But  this,  as  has  been  shown,  shall  be  the  day  of  vindication,  and 
recompense  to  the  righteous. 

,  VII.  Then  follows  the  consummation  of  the  earthly  condition 
of  the  Church.  The  earth,  as  by  right,  so  now  by  allegiance,  is 
the  Lord's.  He  has  come  to  his  own,  and  his  own  has  received 
him.  All  is  now  holiness  to  the  Lord.  Holiness  is  written  on 
men's  employments — it  follows  them  through  all  the  intercourse 
and  all  the  avocations  of  life ;  chastens  their  pleasures ;  graces  their 
conversation  ;  and  pervades  all  their  dealings  and  associations  of 
life.  "  Holiness  unto  the  Lord  shall  be  written  upon  the  bells  of 
the  horses ; "  and  on  the  "  pots  and  the  bowls  of  the  Lord's  house." 
Holiness  unto  the  Lord  shall  be  the  order  of  every-day  life  in  all 
its  occurrences  and  avocations.  The  Temple  is  now  finished — 
the  earthly  Zion  is  complete.  Beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of 
the  earth,  is  Mount  Zion,  the  city  of  the  great  King.  God  is 
known  in  her  palaces  for  a  refuge.  Come,  then,  aU  ye  nations 
from  afar,  come  ye  who  are  near,  come  all  who  would  worship 
the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  come,  walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round 
about  her :  tell  the  towers  thereof.  Mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks ; 
consider  her  palaces. 

But  glorious  as  is  the  Tabernacle  of  God  wlien  thus  pitched 
among  men,  this  is  not  the  final  state  of  the  Church.  Jerusa- 
lem, the  glory  of  the  whole  earth,  shall  have  no  glory  by  reason 
of  the  glory  that  excelleth.  We  look  for  another,  and  a  better, 
whose  Maker  and  Builder  is  God :  the  Mount  Zion  above,  the 


288  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  the  innumerable 
company  of  angels,  the  general  assembly,  and  Church  of  the 
first-born  that  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of 
all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus,  the 
mediator  of  the  new  covenant.  And  then  shall  our  eyes  behold 
the  King  in  his  beauty. 


CHAPTER  XVni. 

The  argument  from  analogy — ^How  is  God  wont  to  deal  with  his  People ; 
and  how  with  the  Wicked  ? 

There  remains  one  other  source  of  proof  that  a  great  conflict, 
such  as  has  never  been  known,  shall  precede  the  triumph  of  the 
Church.  It  is  an  argument  derived  from  the  analogy  of  the  di- 
vine economy,  or  the  ordinary  mode  of  the  divine  working. 

But  before  proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  this  argument, 
we  may  just  allude,  at  least,  to  some  miscellaneous  items  which 
have  been  slightly  if  at  all  discussed ;  and  which  we  may  in  like 
manner  take  as  precursors  of  the  coming  of  the  promised  era, 
and  as  contributing  no  inconsiderable  share  to  hasten  on  such  a 
period.  Among  these  we  may  enumerate,  progress  in  science 
and  all  sorts  of  learning ;  progress  in  the  arts ;  discoveries ;  in- 
ventions ;  the  introduction  and  use  of  new  substances,  and,  more 
than  all,  the  subsidizing  in  the  service  of  human  progress,  new 
forces  and  powers  of  nature ;  improvements  in  modes  of  locomo- 
tion and  the  means  of  communication  and  conveyance ;  progress 
of  liberty,  both  civil  and  religious,  and  in  the  science  of  gov- 
ernment :  and  the  recent  remarkable  increase  of  wealth,  and  the 
conversion  of  seamen  and  men  of  business,  as  furnishing  the  sub- 
stantial resources  and  agencies  of  commerce,  and  the  means  for 
19  (289) 


290  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

carrying  out  all  those  benevolent  and  philanthropic  schemes  bejfit- 
ting  the  age,  and  especially  contributing  to  the  speedy  advent  of 

"  The  promised  age  of  gold." 

I  had  thought  to  make  each  of  these  topics  a  subject  of  sepa- 
rate consideration,  and  the  whole  the  subject  of  a  short  chapter. 
But  we  must  leave  to  the  reflections  of  the  intelligent  reader  the 
bearing  of  these  things  upon  the  coming  of  our  Lord's  kingdom. 
He  will  not  fail  to  see  that  these  things  have  a  very  important  and 
direct  bearing  on  our  main  question.  They  are  agencies,  facilities, 
conditions  of  the  coming  of  that  kingdom;  and  then  they  are 
the  tilings  which  are  preparing  the  people  of  God  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  Millennial  age.  That  high  order  of  civilization  and 
elevated  social  and  moral  condition  which  shall  then  prevail — 
that  populous  and  prosperous  condition  of  the  earth  will  require 
just  that  kind  of  advancement  in  the  particulars  above  referred 
to,  which  we  see  now  in  so  successful  progress.  But  we  need  not 
go  into  details  here,  though  such  details  would  richly  repay  our 
researches. 

In  the  prosecution  of  the  subject  of  this  chapter  we  may  orig- 
inate and  answer  two  inquiries :  the  one.  How,  in  the  carrying 
out  of  his  purposes  in  the  great  scheme  of  redemption,  is  God  in 
the  habit  of  dealing  with  his  people  ?  And  the  other,  How  is  he 
wont  to  deal  with  the  wicked  ? 

In  the  adoption  of  any  particular  course  of  procedure  towards 
his  Church,  God  chiefly  regards  his  own  glory.  This  however  is, 
in  the  result,  but  a  regard  for  man's  greatest  good.  As  God  is  the 
source  of  all  excellence,  his  exaltation  on  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
verse, is  the  direct  and  effectual  way  of  securing  the  good  of  his 
creatures.  God,  then,  in  his  extreme  jealousy  for  his  honor  (for 
the  Lord  our  God  is  a  jealous  God),  and  in  the  undisputed  supre- 
macy which  he  claims  over  all  his  creatures,  is  chargeable  with 


god's  dealing  with  his  church  on  earth.       291 

nothing  which,  in  our  dialect,  is  called  ambition.  He  assumes 
nothing.  He  simply  takes  his  own.  And  in  doing  this  he  pur- 
sues the  most  direct — the  only  direct  course  which  can  secure  the 
happiness  of  his  creatures.  Peace  and  good -loill  among  men  can 
only  exist  where  glory  in  the  highest  is  ascribed  to  God.  God's 
undisputed  sovereignty  and  man's  entire  dependence  and  obedience 
are  indispensable  requisites  to  make  a  happy  world  or  a  happy 
universe. 

These  remarks,  if  just,  give  U5  some  clew  to  the  course  of 
dealing  which  we  may  expect  God  will  pursue  towards  his  Churcli 
on  earth.  It  shall  be  such  as  to  leave  unimpaired  his  own  glory. 
He  will  not  treat  with  man  on  any  other  conditions.  He  will  in 
no  case  compromise  his  honor.  Of  this  we  have  overwhelming 
and  repeated  proof  in  the  brief  history  we  have  of  God's  dealings 
towards  our  world  in  respect  to  its  redemption.  An  entire  race 
had  fallen  and  were  now  rebels  in  the  divine  government,  and  as 
such  consigned  over  by  the  law  to  remediless  woe.  Not  one  of 
these  could  be  redeemed — not  one  could  be  raised  to  heaven,  till 
a  full  satisfaction  had  been  made  to  the  injured  honor  of  God. 
There  was  the  first  breach  to  be  repaired.  Violence  had  been 
done  to  his  government — ^his  law  had  been  trampled  on,  and  not 
a  step  could  be  taken  towards  a  reconciliation  till  a  full  satisfac- 
tion should  be  rendered  to  his  violated  honor.  Hence  the  whole 
scheme  of  Redemption  by  Jesus  Christ  is  such,  from  its  foun- 
dation to  its  top-stone,  as  to  exalt  God  and  humble  man.  There 
is  nothing  about  the  gospel  mode  of  salvation,  either  in  its  pro- 
vision or  its  application,  which  does  not  give  the  whole  glory  to 
God.  It  is  exclusively  a  plan  of  divine  wisdom.  It  is  carried 
on  at  every  step  by  the  divine  hand ;  and  its  end  is  altogether  a 
gratuity  of  the  inexhaustible  stores  of  the  divine  goodness.  It 
is  "  grace  for  grace  " — altogether  of  grace.  Its  song  is  "  unto  him 
that  loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us." 


292  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WOULD. 

Consequently  we  find  that,  in  accordance  with  such  sentiments, 
is  God's  mode  of  converting  and  sanctifying  the  sinner,  as  well  as 
his  mode  of  dealing  with  his  Church  as  a  body. 

The  sinner  is  living  in  the  galling  bondage  of  spiritual  death. 
He  is  bound  fast  in  the  adamantine  chains  of  sin,  and  nothing 
this  side  of  Omnipotence  can  break  these  chains  and  give  the 
captive  deliverance.  But  how  is  redemption  brought  to  this 
captive  soul  ?  It  might  be  done  immediately — without  any  in- 
strumentality— without  the  lapse  of  any  time,  or  without  any  pro- 
cess of  conviction,  or  any  preliminary  work  whatever.  The 
sinner  might  be  converted  in  his  sleep.  The  abstract  power  of 
God  is  sufficient  to  accomplish  this.  But  this  is  not  God's  plan 
of  working.  Men  have  raised  the  standard  of  insurrection  in 
God's  empire,  and  first  of  all  they  must  learn  their  folly  and  their 
guUt.  Then  they  must  be  made  to  feel  the  wretchedness  and 
ruin  of  their  present  condition.  They  must  clearly  see  and  deeply 
and  distressingly  feel  that  there  is  no  help  in  themselves — none 
in  man — none  in  any  other  but  in  God.  And  not  till,  like  Peter, 
they  feel  themselves  to  be  sinking  and  cry,  "  Lord,  help  or  I 
perish ;  '*  or  like  the  returning  prodigal  they  can  say,  from  the 
most  painful  and  heart-felt  conviction,  "  I  have  sinned  agamst  heav- 
en and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son ; 
make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants ; "  not  till  the  soul  has 
been  brought  to  the  very  verge  of  despair,  and  their  strength  is 
clean  gone  and  the  last  glimmering  ray  of  hope  seems  about  to 
go  out  forever,  will  they  flee  to  Him  who  is  the  resurrection  and 
the  life.  Now  if  favor  be  shown.,  it  will  be  received  as  favor — 
as  grace  and  not  debt. 

There  is  wisdom  worthy  of  God  in  such  an  arrangement.  The 
sinner  is  brought  to  see  his  own  weakness ;  his  own  guilt ;  his 
own  ruin,  and  withal,  his  own  dependence.  He  never  can — if 
he  have  really  been  brought  into  the  deep  and  dark  valley  of 


DARKEST   TIME   BEFORE    THE   DAWN.  293 

genuine  conviction  of  sin — he  never  can  glory  in  any  thing  but 
in  the  cross  of  Christ.  He  will  remember  the  wormwood  and 
the  gall,  and  confess,  "  it  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  we  are  not 
consumed."  The  one  reason  (if  we  were  to  give  but  one)  why 
God  raises  the  sinner  from  so  low  a  depth,  and  sheds  light  into 
his  soul  in  the  midst  of  such  thick  darkness,  is  that  his  own  arm 
may  be  made  bare — that  the  Christian  may  begin  his  spiritual 
life  with  the  conviction  indelibly  impressed — and  never  to  be  ob- 
literated, that  God,  in  the  whole  matter  of  his  salvation,  is  a  Sove- 
reign— that  God  is  the  sole  author  of  all  his  graces  and  of  all 
his  hopes,  and  that  he  is  wholly  and  unreservedly  dependent  on 
God  for  the  continuance  of  his  graces  and  the  consummation  of 
all  his  hopes.  Such  a  conviction,  inwrought  into  the  soul,  wUl 
do  more  for  the  Christian's  spiritual  growth,  and  for  his  usefulness 
in  his  present  bodily  sphere  of  action,  and  for  the  perfection  of 
his  character  for  another  state  of  being,  than  all  other  means  of 
grace  that  can  be  used. 

I  have  dwelt  on  this  longer,  because  it  is  but  analogous  with  God's 
whole  course  of  dealing  with  his  people.  Whether  in  the  natural 
world  the  proverb  will  hold  I  know  not,  but  in  the  spiritual  world 
it  will,  that  "  the  darkest  time  is  just  before  the  dawn."  Never 
was  the  Church  of  God  more  persecuted  and  afflicted,  and  cast 
down  and  trampled  under  foot,  than  when  on  the  very  eve  of 
deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage.  Every  struggle  they  made 
only  seemed  to  sink  them  lower  in  the  deep  waters  of  oppression. 
Every  effort  that  was  made  for  their  emancipation  seemed  only 
to  forge  new  manacles  for  the  victims  of  thraldom,  and  to  rivet 
their  chains  more  closely  than  before.  It  was  a  dark  day  for  the 
Church,  and  never  did  she  seem  so  far  from  enlargement.  But 
the  day  of  her  extremity  was  the  day  of  her  visitation  from  on 
high.  Behind  that  dark  cloud,  which  shut  out  from  view  the 
already  risen  light  of  the  early  dawn,  the  full-orbed  light  of  day 


294  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

was  about  to  rise.  Deliverance  came  in  the  darkest  hour — and 
deliverance  too  in  a  manner  to  show  both  friends  and  foes  that 
it  was  the  finger  of  God.  All  would  now  say,  his  arm  had  gotten 
them  the  victory.  It  was  for  this  that  they  were  brought  low  and 
diminished  and  oppressed.  God  would  show  his  people  where 
their  strength  lay — and  this  they  would  learn  only  when  brought 
to  see  their  own  weakness. 

And  so  it  has  generally  been  with  the  Church  of  God.  Her 
greatest  triumphs  have  been  immediately  preceded  by  her  darkest 
periods.  The  waning  of  an  old  and  decaying  order  of  things, 
and  the  revolutions  and  convulsions  incident  to  the  introduction 
and  establishment  of  a  new  dispensation,  give  to  the  general  aspect 
of  affairs  the  appearance  of  a  mighty  dissolution.  It  is  fearful 
to  see  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  breaking  up,  and  the  mighty 
floods  rolling  over  the  earth,  and  the  solid  ground  giving  way, 
and  no  new  earth  on  which  you  may  place  the  sole  of  your  foot. 
It  was  a  dark  period  to  Noah,  when  he  looked  abroad  upon  the 
wide  expanse  of  waters,  and  saw  the  last  summit  of  the  sinking 
earth,  sinking  deeper  and  deeper  into  a  watery  grave.  But  soon 
a  new  world  arose,  regenerated — washed  from  the  sins  of  the  old 
and  made  once  more  a  fit  abode  for  holiness. 

And  that  was  the  darkest  night  of  all  when  the  body  of  Him, 
who  was  to  be  the  bright  and  morning  star,  was  entombed  in  the 
solid  marble  of  the  "new  sepulchre."  No  wonder  that  the 
heavens  gathered  blackness — that  the  sun  was  darkened.  In 
yonder  sepulchre  was  entombed  the  hojpe  of  the  world.  The 
rising  star  of  Bethlehem,  which  had  already  begun  to  cast  its 
light  over  the  thick  darkness  of  the  nations,  now  seemed  to  sink 
again  below  its  horizon,  and  no  bow  of  promise  gave  signs  that 
ere  long  it  should  rise  again  in  redoubled  splendor.  The  rising 
hopes  of  saints  were  now  in  a  moment  prostrated.  Many  had 
trusted  that  it  had  been  He  who  should  have  redeemed  Israel,  but 


THE   RESURRECTION.  295 

as  the  morning  of  the  third  day  approached  and  all  was  still  silent 
about  the  sepulchre — except  as  the  stern  sentinel  of  the  Roman 
cohort,  half  determined  by  martial  pride,  half  trembling  for  a 
fearful  looking  after  those  things  that  may  come  to  pass,  keeps 
his  nightly  watch  and  proudly  walks  his  rounds  about  the  spot 
where  lay,  bound  in  the  icy  chains  of  death,  the  hope  of  a  hope- 
less world — how  must  the  last  ray  of  hope  seem  to  be  settling 
down  into  the  dark  abyss  to  emerge  no  more  forever !  How,  to 
the  faultering  hopes  of  saints  and  disciples,  must  the  flickering 
light  of  eternal  life  seem  to  be  sinking  into  its  socket,  and  the 
world  seem  bound  over  to  the  unbroken  and  universal  dominion 
of  spiritual  darkness  and  hopeless  death !  How  did  this  over- 
powering despondency  which  had  seized  on  every  anxious  heart, 
find  a  response  in  the  bursting  grief  of  those  female  disciples  who 
came  early  to  the  sepulchre :  "  They  have  taken  away  our  Lord, 
and  we  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him!  " 

Never  was  there  a  darker  hour.  Hope  lay  dead  and  incased 
in  the  solid  granite.  Death  had  gotten  the  victory — the  grave  had 
the  spoil,  sin  triumphed,  and  hell  kept  jubilee.  But  hark !  I 
seem  to  hear  a  rumbling  sound.  The  earth  quakes — the  rocks 
rend — the  priests  come  rushing  from  the  temple,  and  proclaim 
that  the  veil  is  rent  asunder — the  graves  open,  and  their  pallid 
inhabitants  again  walk  forth  among  the  abodes  of  men.  And 
what  does  all  this  mean  ? 

One  company  and  then  another  company  of  women — and  then 
one  of  the  disciples,  whose  ecstasy  in  the  tidings  he  brings,  bears 
him  apace  before  his  brethren,  come  running  back  to  the  Holy 
City  early  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  what 
strange  tidings  do  they  bring !  They  say — ^and  who  at  this  junc- 
ture of  fell  despondency  can  credit  it — they  say  that  the  Lord  has 
risen  indeed!  The  gloomy  night  is  passed.  The  morning  of  the 
Resurrection  has  come.     The  entombed  hopes  of  his  followers 


296  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

now  burst  forth  into  a  glorious  reality.  Incased  in  that  hopeless 
tomb  was  the  germ  of  hope  for  a  ruined  world.  On  Calvary,  in 
the  very  ignominy  and  agony  of  the  cross,  was  done  away  one 
order  of  things  and  introduced  another,  which  should  bring 
life  and  immortality  to  light.  It  was  the  darkness,  the  dread, , 
the  death  of  that  dismal  period,  which  introduced  the  most  illus- 
trious period  the  Church  ever  witnessed.  They  not  only  pre- 
ceded it,  but  were  the  very  authors  of  it.  The  scene  on  Calvary 
was  the  great  conflict.  It  was  the  hour  and  power  of  darkness. 
When  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  was  about  to  introduce  a  new 
and  more  glorious  era  of  his  grace,  all  the  powers  of  the  Pit  were 
roused  to  smother  the  rising  glory. 

Hence  the  conflict  of  that  period — and  hence  the  conflict  that 
precedes  every  principal  step  of  advancement  in  God's  dispen- 
sations of  grace  towards  our  world.  It  is  not  merely  a  thing,  which, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  does  precede  a  triumph,  but  which,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  reason,  should  precede  it. 

It  was  so  again  only  a  few  years  after  the  ascension  of  our 
blessed  Lord.  All  things  were  prepared  for  the  diffusion  of  the  gos- 
pel among  the  nations.  The  disciples  had  received  the  command 
— their  number  was  sufficiently  multiplied — the  Holy  Ghost  had 
come  upon  them,  and  all  things  seemed  ready  for  their  mission. 
But  they  lingered,  and  at  this  very  juncture  the  heavens  over 
them  gathered  blackness — a  deadly  spirit  of  persecution  broke 
out  about  Stephen,  and  the  disciples  were  scattered  abroad 
among  distant  provinces  and  nations;  and  wherever  they  were 
driven,  they  went  preaching  the  word.  It  was  to  all  human  ap- 
pearance a  dark  day.  But  it  was  a  darkness  that  presaged  a 
more  glorious  light  than  ever  before  had  risen  on  this  benighted 
world.  And  so  it  has  been  in  God's  ordinary  dealings  with  his 
Church.  He  gives  them  enlargement  by  bringing  them  through 
a  very  narrow  way.    He  gives  them  light  by  bringing  them  through 


INDICATIONS    AND    SIGNS.  297 

a  very  dark  valley.  He  gives  them  joy  and  rest  and  peace  and 
glory,  by  first  bringing  them  through  the  dust  of  humiliation,  and 
oftentimes  out  of  the  furnace  of  affliction. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  "  the  hour  of  preparation  for  a  better 
order  of  things  is  not  a  time  of  favorable  appearances,  but  the 
reverse  ;  and  that,  nevertheless,  at  such  a  time,  human  affairs  are 
actually  tending  towards  the  approaching  change."  While  clouds 
and  darkness  settle  down  thick  on  the  surface  of  events,  and  pre- 
sage any  thing  but  a  favorable  change,  the  undeveloped  operations 
of  an  under-current  are  bearing  away  all  obstacles  before  them, 
and  preparing  the  way  for  some  radical  and  momentous  change. 

We  no  doubt  mistake  in  supposing  we  must  look  for  the  signs 
of  the  times  in  the  quarter  from  which  the  light  comes.  We 
must  look  towards  the  dark  quarter,  where  the  clouds  are  lower- 
ing and  the  storm  is  brewing — ^look  beyond  the  circle  within  which 
religion  has  reared  her  standard  and  morality  shed  her  benign  in- 
fluence. We  must  look  abroad  upon  the  wide  surface  of  spiritual 
desolation,  if  we  would  discern  indications  that  some  mighty  con- 
vulsion is  at  hand,  which  shall  break  up  the  deep  foundations  of 
error  and  sin,  and  establish  all  things  on  a  new  and  a  better  basis. 
We  look  towards  the  illumined  quarter  of  the  moral  heavens,  and 
we  see  the  light  gleaming  up  higher  and  brighter.  The  sun  of 
righteousness  is  manifestly  arising  on  the  dark  face  of  the  waters. 
The  Bible  is  making  its  way  into  the  ranks  of  unbelief  and  idola- 
try— the  gospel  is  preached — the  messengers  of  truth  go  to  and 
fro,  and  knowledge  is  increased ;  but  these  are  not  surer  harbingers 
of  a  brighter  day,  than  the  swelling,  heaving,  boiling  of  the  great 
ocean  of  moral  darkness.  "  When  the  wicked  are  like  the  troub- 
led sea  which  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and  dirt — 
when  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the 
stars,  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity,  the 
sea  and  the   waves  roaring   (great  political  convulsions),  then 


298  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

may  you  know  that  some  mighty  conflict  is  at  hand — some  signal 
victory  awaits  the  saints  of  the  most  high  God.  For  the  empire 
of  sin  will  never  yield  without  a  conflict,  and  a  conflict  between  sin 
and  holiness  will  always  enventuate  in  the  overthrow  of  sin. 

This,  under  the  direction  of  a  wise  and  gracious  Providence, 
is  the  natural  order  of  things.  As  the  kingdom  of  light  advances, 
the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  is  alarmed  for  the  safety  of 
his  empire.  His  anger  becomes  the  more  fierce  and  his  efforts 
the  more  impetuous,  as  he  sees  the  onward  and  irresistible  advance- 
ment of  that  kingdom  which  shall  fill  the  whole  earth.  While 
he  supposes  himself  an  equal  combatant,  he  is  comparatively 
at  ease.  But  the  moment  he  sees  the  victory  going  finally  and 
forever  against  him,  he  will  contend  with  all  the  desperation  of 
an  arch  fiend.  We  are,  therefore,  to  expect — indeed  it  is  but 
analogous  to  the  ordinary  operations  of  the  divine  economy  in 
conducting  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom,  that  a  mighty  conflict  will 
precede  any  very  signal  triumph  of  the  Church. 

There  is  on  the  part  of  God  a  wise  and  benevolent  design  that 
it  should  be  so.  He  thus  vindicates  his  own  honor  and  makes 
manifest  his  own  power.  He  shows  to  the  Church  and  to  the 
world  that  the  strength  of  his  people  lies  in  the  omnipotent  arm. 
He  teaches  his  people  their  dependence,  and  by  this  says  to  the 
wicked,  "  stand  in  awe  and  sin  not,"  for  He  with  whom  you  con- 
tend is  God. 

There  are,  then,  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing  that  God  will 
not  change  his  mode  of  conducting  the  august  affairs  of  his  gov- 
ernment. What  has  been,  shall  be.  If  he  has  seen  it  wise  to 
prepare  his  people  for  the  successive  onward  developments  of  his 
grace  and  his  glory  in  his  earthly  Zion,  by  bringing  them  into  that 
state  of  humiliation  and  dependence — where  they  are  prepared  to 
understand  the  loving-kindness  of  their  God,  and  to  appreciate 
his  power,  and  to  be  in  a  state  to  ascribe  all  the  majesty  and  the 


SORENESS    OF   THE    CONFLICT.  299 

glory,  all  the  power  and  dominion  unto  God  and  to  the  Lamb 
forever,  he  will  continue  to  do  so. 

And  if  such  a  day  of  darkness  and  despondency ;  if  such  a 
period  of  trial  and  self-abasement,  and  of  emptying  of  all  human 
dependence ;  such  a  day  of  overthrow  and  despair  was  necessary 
to  prepare  the  Church  for  those  lesser  manifestations  of  grace  and 
glory  in  former  periods  of  Zion's  triumphs,  how  much  more  may 
we  suppose  the  Church  will  be  prepared  for  her  Millennial  tri- 
umph by  a  most  gaUing  encounter  with  her  inveterate  foe !  How 
much  more  niay  we  expect  that  the  sun  of  the  Millennial  Morn 
will  arise  on  the  darkest,  deadliest,  the  most  tempestuous  night 
that  ever  lowered  on  this  lower  world !  None  shall  see  that  mom 
but  such  as  come  out  of  great  tribulation.  It  shall  be  a  most 
striking  emblem  of  heaven.  A  prominent  characteristic  shall  be, 
that  "  here  the  wicked  shall  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary 
shall  be  at  rest."  So  sore  will  be  the  conflict — so  raging  the 
fury  of  the  enemy — so  near  did  they  seem  to  gain  the  victory — 
and  finally  so  providential  and  miraculous  the  victory  in  behalf 
of  the  saints,  that  not  a  suspicion  can  lurk  in  a  single  breast  that 
it  was  any  other  than  the  hand  of  Jehovah  which  gave  them  the 
victory.  As  in  the  case  of  the  convicted  sinner,  when  overcome 
beneath  the  weight  of  his  burden  and  ready  to  perish,  deliverance 
is  the  more  precious,  and  the  arm  that  plucked  him  from  the  hor- 
rible pit  and  the  miry  clay  is  more  readily  acknowledged  ;  so  in 
the  deliverance  of  the  Church  from  her  low  and  oppressed  state, 
when  the  foot  of  the  enemy  is  raised  high  to  crush  her,  she  can 
sing  of  triumph,  and  ascribe  all  the  honor  to  Him  who  hath  done 
it. 

I  have  answered,  and  somewhat  in  detail  too,  the  first  inquiry 
proposed,  viz. :  What  is  GocTs  ordinarg  course  of  dealing  with 
his  Church  in  reference  to  those  periods  when  he  is  about  to  make 
some  new  and  more  glorious  display  of  his  grace  towards  her  ? 


300  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

And  from  this  I  have  drawn  a  fair  inference,  I  believe,  that  it  is 
but  analogous  with  what  in  a  great  variety  of  instances  has  al- 
ready taken  place,  to  expect  a  mighty  conflict  before  the  final 
triumph  of  the  Church  in  the  days  of  the  Millennium.  I  must 
now  return  a  brief  answer  to  the  second  inquiry,  viz. :  Whai 
is  God's  ordinary  course  of  dealing,  under  similar  circumstances, 
with  the  incorrigibly  wicked  ?  And  we  may  here  be  able  to  de- 
duce the  same  inference  as  before. 

Two  objects  are  here  to  be  gained  :  the  one,  to  demonstrate  to 
the  wicked  how  perfectly  unavailing  is  the  w^arfare  they  are  carry- 
ing on  against  God ;  and  the  other,  to  confirm  the  faith  of  his 
people  in  the  power  and  determination  of  God  to  support  his 
cause,  and  vindicate  his  chosen  against  any  assault  which  may 
be  made  upon  them. 

Hence  we  find  that  God  exercises  a  singular  forbearance  to- 
wards sinners.  He  allows  them  time  to  exemplify  their  wicked 
principles,  and  to  act  out  their  characters — that  the  world — that 
the  universe  may  have  a  fair  opportunity  to  see  what  they  are, 
and  to  what  they  tend.  He  does  not  hinder  them  from  exhibit- 
ing the  extreme  pride,  and  ambition,  and  malice,  and  madness 
of  sin.  He  does  not  keep  the  sinner  caged  in  such  a  lattice-work 
of  restraints  that  he  cannot  act  out,  freely,  his  own  nature.  He 
gives  him  length  of  chain,  that  he  may  sport  and  rage — that  he 
may  show  what  he  is,  and  what  he  would  do  if  permitted  to  have 
a  still  greater  range.  Hence  it  is  that  when  sinners  get  madly 
set  on  their  idols,  and  are  determined  at  all  hazards  to  pursue  the 
vanities  of  their  own  choice,  God  allows  them  to  do  so.  As  the 
light  increases  and  trenches  on  the  confines  of  darkness,  they 
madden  more  and  more.  God  permits  this.  They  are  at  length 
wrought  up  into  a  frenzy  of  madness  against  the  people  of  God, 
and  venture  to  raise  the  hand  of  violence  against  God's  anointed 
ones.     They  may  beat  them  low,  but  they  cannot  crush  them. 


MERCIES — ^JUDGMENTS.  301 

They  may  trample  on  them,  but  they  cannot  grind  them  to  powder. 
No  weapon  formed  against  them  can  prevail.  It  may  seem  about 
to  prevail,  but  it  can  never  strike  the  final  blow.  The  strong 
arm  of  God  interposes  at  the  very  moment  when  the  ponderous 
foot  of  the  enemy  is  about  to  crush  his  prey.  So  it  was  when 
Pharaoh  and  his  host,  mad  on  revenge,  pursued  the  people  of 
God  to  the  very  borders  of  the  sea.  The  maddening  tiger  crouched 
to  pounce  upon  his  prey ;  and  when  it  seemed  in  his  very  jaws, 
a  hand  divine  laid  prostrate  the  prowling  beast,  rescued  his  lamb, 
and  gathered  it  into  a  larger  fold.  And  here  is  reared  one  of  the 
most  singular  monuments  in  the  history  of  man.  On  one  side 
you  read  a  record  of  mercy ;  on  another  side  a  record  of  judg- 
ment ;  and  on  all  sides  you  read  the  inevitable  fate  of  the  sinner 
and  the  security  of  the  saint.  And  so  it  was  as  the  great  con- 
flict approached,  near  the  close  of  our  Saviour's  eventful  life. 
The  clearness  and  pungency  of  his  instructions,  the  pureness  of 
his  life,  had  so  irritated  and  galled  the  foes  of  truth,  and  so  dis- 
gorged the  latent  fires  of  malice  against  a  holy  Religion,  that 
they  could  no  longer  suppress  the  outbreakings  of  their  corrupt 
hearts.  The  object  of  their  hatred  was  the  progress  of  the 
truth.  They  saw  their  ranks  thinning  and  their  territory  narrow- 
ing, their  respectability  waning  and  their  influence  depreciating, 
and  they  made  one  deadly  struggle  to  save  their  sinking  cause. 
The  more  desperate  their  cause  the  more  deadly  the  onset.  And 
so  we  may  expect  it  to  be  when  the  truth  shall  have  taken  so 
deep  root,  and  have  extended  its  branches  so  widely  as  to  create 
the  alarm  that  its  empire  shall  become  universal.  The  moment 
that  the  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands  is  increased 
to  such  dimensions  that  it  shall  seem  to  be  jostling  from  their 
foundations  and  removing  from  their  places,  and  casting  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea,  all  the  dominions  and  principalities  of  error 
and  delusion  and  falsehood,  till  no  place  shall  be  found  for  them, 


302  THE   COMING   CRISIS    OP  THE   WORLD. 

that  moment,  you  may  depend  upon  it,  a  low  grumbling  sound 
will  be  heard  among  the  nations.  The  lowest  elements  of  in- 
iquity will  begin  to  heave  and  give  signs  of  a  convulsion,  and  at 
length  the  warring  elements  will  burst  forth,  and  the  fires  of  the 
pit  will  bum  from  the  lowest  depths  of  hell. 

In  a  word,  when  the  truth  shall  have  made  so  much  progress, 
and  yet  before  it  can  set  up  its  undisputed  empire  among  the 
nations,  there  will,  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary  operations  of 
the  divine  economy,  be  a  conflict  of  principle — of  truth  with 
error — a  bloody  conflict  in  all  probabihty,  such  as  has  never  yet 
been  recorded  in  the  history  of  man. 

How  inevitable  then  is  the  destruction  of  the  sinner!  He  may 
boast  himself  for  a  time.  He  may  speak  great  swelling  words. 
He  may  lightly  esteem  the  God  of  his  salvation  and  affect  to 
despise  his  commandments.  He  may  think  to  break  the  cords 
of  restraint  and  raise  the  standard  of  rebellion,  yet  how  perfectly 
futile  are  all  his  attempts. 

Nothing  can  be  so  consummately  foolish  and  futile  as  the  sin- 
ner's estrangement  from  his  God.  He  voluntarily  forsakes  his 
best,  his  only  Friend :  his  best  Friend  in  time,  and  the  only  one 
that  can  befriend  him  when  time  shall  be  no  more. 

If  the  sinner  be  not  reconciled  to  God,  there  is  no  power  in 
the  universe  that  can  save  him  from  a  never-ending  ruin.  He 
must  perish.  Sooner  might  you  think  to  roll  back  the  wheels  of 
time,  or  to  change  the  ordinances  of  heaven,  than  to  save  a  sinner 
who  will  not  yield  in  obedience  and  love  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  duty  of  Chripfians  in  reference  to  the  near  approach  of  the  Milleunium. 

This  is  the  last  topic  proposed  for  discussion.  And  it  becomes 
us  to  enter  upon  it  with  some  befitting  sense  of  our  responsibilities 
and  duties  at  such  a  time  as  this. 

However  much  they  who  talk  and  think  and  write  on  these 
subjects  may  difier  as  to  the  signs  of  the  approach  of  such  a 
period,  or  the  time  of  its  commencement,  or  its  character  or  du- 
ration, there  seems  a  very  general  agreement  among  all  evan- 
gelical Christians  that  the  "  good  time  is  coming ; "  and  that  it  is 
not  far  in  the  future.  To  say  nothing  of  all  the  absurd  and  ful- 
some things,  which,  in  our  pride  and  self-gratulation,  has  been 
said  on  this  subject,  we  are  no  doubt  living  in  a  very  interesting 
period  of  the  world.  Events,  big  with  interest  to  the  Church, 
as  we  have  shown,  are  now  transpiring  in  quick  succession. 
Thirty  years  now  leave  in  their  wake,  as  they  pass,  a  consumma- 
tion of  more  events  which  hasten  on  the  glory  of  Zion,  than  three 
hundred — I  had  almost  said  three  thousand  years — did  at  some 
former  period  of  the  history  of  the  Church.  Who  could  have 
conceived,  thirty  years  ago,  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in 
science,  in  government,  in  civilization  and  religion  ?  Into  how 
many  languages  has  the  Bible,  within  that  period,  been  translated, 
and  given,  in  their  own  vernacular,  to  more  than  half  the  popula- 

(303) 


304  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

tion  of  the  globe !  How  have  the  messengers  of  the  Churches 
gone  to  and  fro  in  the  world,  and  knowledge  increased,  till  the 
good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people,  has  been 
proclaimed,  in  greater  or  less  perfection,  and  more  or  less  exten- 
sively, among  almost  every  people  and  nation !  The  Press  has 
sent  forth  its  healing  leaves  as  widely  as  the  tree  of  life  has  been 
planted.  Never  before  was  the  march  of  truth  so  rapid.  The 
science  of  government;  liberal  principles;  the  progress  of  the 
arts,  have  within  the  same  period,  made  rapid  strides  towards 
perfection.  Much  remains  to  be  done,  yet  what  are  these  but 
the  sure  harbingers  of  better  days  ?  What  is  their  language  but 
this,  that  the  night  is  Jar  spent,  and  the  day  is  at  hand'^ 

And  we  may,  if  we  will,  discover  in  the  untoward  circum- 
stances of  the  Church,  and  of  the  world,  indications  that  the  day 
of  Zion's  deliverance  and  enlargement  is  not  distant.  The  very 
outbreakings  of  sin — the  ravings  and  ranklings  of  Satan,  are 
no  doubtful  indications  that  his  time  is  short ;  his  days  numbered. 

A  voice  on  every  side  seems  to  say  to  Zion,  "  Arise,  shine,  for 
thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee. 
Lift  up  your  eyes  around  about  and  see,  all  gather  themselves 
together ;  thy  sons  shall  come  from  afar,  and  thy  daughters  shall 
be  nursed  by  thy  side." 

If  such  a  period  as  has  been  indicated — ^if  such  events  as  have 
been  described,  lie  but  a  little  way  before  us,  and  if  the  charac- 
ter of  that  period  and  of  those  events  be  such  as  I  have  intima- 
ted, it  becomes  a  question  of  very  serious  import,  Are  we  prepared 
for  such  a  state  of  things  ?  Are  we  doing  what  devolves  on  us 
to  hasten  the  wished  for  era ;  and  are  we  prepared  to  live  in  and 
enjoy  such  a  period  ?  The  prophet  just  quoted  adds — and  this 
includes  the  preparation  needed — "  then  thou  shall  see  and  flow 
together,  and  thine  heart  shall  fear  and  be  enlarged,  because  the 
abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  unto  thee,  and  the  forces 


HOLIER    STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH.  305 

of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee."  In  other  words,  when  the 
heathen  shall  be  converted,  and  they  that  do  business  on  the 
great  waters,  and  see  the  wonders  of  the  deep,  shall  yield  a  will- 
ing obedience  to  the  God  of  heaven,  then  shall  be  developed  in 
the  Churchi,  the  character  here  described.  They  shcdl  see,  shall 
know, shall  understand;  the  films  of  ignorance  shall  be  removed, 
and  they  shall  see  clearly,  and  comprehend  more  of  the  ways  of 
the  Lord.  They  shaU  flow  together — shall  be  of  one  heart  and 
one  mind — shall  be  bound  together  by  the  golden  chain  of  love, 
and  shall  not  only  harmonize  in  feeling  and  affection  and  cardi- 
nal principle,  but  shall,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  the  great  work  in 
which  they  are  engaged  admit,  think  and  act  in  harmony.  Their 
heart  shall  fear  and  be  enlarged.  Self-distrust,  and  reverence  for 
God  shall  pervade  their  innermost  soul.  While  they  walk  care- 
fully and  humbly  before  their  God,  they  shall  have  increased 
confidence  in  him,  and  more  liberal  and  enlarged  views  of  his 
character  and  kingdom.  They  shall  be  enlarged — shall  be  capable 
of  understanding  more — of  feeling  more — of  doing  more — and 
shall  desire  more.  They  will  ask  great  things  of  God — and  ex- 
pect great  things.  They  shall  be  capacitated  to  live  in  a  higher 
and  holier  and  more  advanced  state  of  things. 

But  is  not  this  higher  and  liolier  type  of  Christian  character, 
which  fits  for  that  higher  and  holier  state  of  the  Church  in  (ho 
time  of  her  ^Millennial  glory,  the  very  character  which  will  bring 
about  such  a  state?  Holy  fear;  profound  reverence  and  love 
of  God ;  increased  holiness ;  a  more  liberal  and  diffusive  intelli- 
gence ;  union  and  harmony  of  action ;  enlarged  views  of  duty, 
and  feelings,  affections,  and  desires  Christ-like  and  heavenly,  are 
the  characteristics  and  the  sure  harbingers  of  such  a  period. 

Would  we,  then,  be  the  instruments  of  introducing  such  a  day, 
and  when  it  shall  be  introduced,  be  prepared  to  welcome  and  en- 
joy it,  we  must  have  this  character.  And  so  we  must,  should 
20 


306  THE   COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

we  be  first  called  to  enter  upon  the  more  perfect  fruition  of  a  yet 
higher  state  of  glory.  The  spirit  that  would  fit  us  to  enjoy  such 
a  state  of  things  is  the  very  spirit  that  will  make  us  instrumental 
in  bringing  about  that  state. 

What  then  is  the  duty  of  all  who  love  and  honor  our  Divino 
Master  ?  He  is  doing  great  things  in  our  world.  He  is  acceler- 
ating his  chariot-wheels  with  a  glorious  and  fearful  rapidity — 
glorious  to  all  who  will  acknowledge  his  right  to  reign  and  re- 
joice in  his  dominion,  and  fearful  to  all  such  as  will  not  have  him 
to  reign  over  them.  He  would  have  his  people  coworkers  with 
him.  He  has  preordained  that  he  will  carry  on  his  work  through 
his  people.  If  he  is  now  hastening  things  on  to  the  grand  con- 
summation, as  I  have  supposed  ;  if,  as  a  King  he  is  riding  forth  con- 
quering and  to  conquer,  he  expects,  as  never  before,  that  his 
people  will  put  on  the  whole  armor,  and  in  this  day  of  the  great 
conflict  and  victory  stand,  every  man  at  his  post. 

What  is  a  befitting  preparation  for  such  a  period  ?  I  name  as 
the  first  in  order  and  importance,  a  higher,  holier,  a  more 
purifying  and  appropriating  faith. 

As,  on  the  one  hand,  dangers  thicken  about  the  Church,  and 
days  grow  dark,  and  the  enemy  strengthens  himself  and  seems 
about  to  prevail,  the  people  of  God  need  a  firmer  hold  on  the 
promises — a  stronger  faith — a  more  implicit  reliance  on  their 
covenant  God.  Like  John  when  he  had  been  cast  into  prison, 
there  is  danger  that  their  faith  will,  in  the  hour  of  their  tribula- 
tion, fail  them.  They  will  therefore  need  a  faith  which  shall 
appropriate  the  divine  promises,  and  bring  home  to  the  soul  a 
clearer  evidence  of  things  unseen.  In  the  day  of  rebuke  and  trial 
that  shall  precede  that  latter-day  glory,  the  soul  of  the  good  man 
will  need  to  be  fortified  against  the  spirit  that  shall  work  in  the 
children  of  disobedience.  He  will  be  able  to  stand  only  as  he 
has  on  the  whole  armor  of  God. 


NECESSITY    OP   HOLINESS.  807 

But  he  must  not  only  be  prepared  to  meet,  and  to  pass  un- 
scathed through,  the  coming  conflict,  when  the  "  Lord  shall  come 
out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  their 
iniquity,"  but  when  the  "  indignation  shall  be  overpast,"  he  must 
be  prepared  to  enter  upon,  and  be  able  to  live  in  and  enjoy  a 
moral  condition  which  shall  require  a  much  higher  type  of  re- 
ligious character,  and  a  purer  and  more  appropriating  faith  than 
has  been  hitherto  known  in  the  Church.  While  this  will  still  be 
an  earthly  condition,  it  will  be  more  heavenly  than  has  yet  been 
seen  on  earth.  The  prevailing  exercise  of  that  faith  which  over- 
cometh  the  world,  worketh  by  love  and  purifieth  the  heart,  will 
make  heaven  and  earth  meet,  and  men  will  again  seem  to  converse 
with  angels. 

From  what  has  already  been  said,  it  will  be  inferred  that  a  deep- 
toned  piety  is  an  indispensable  preparation  both  for  the  speedy 
bringing  in  of  such  a  period,  and  for  the  enjoyment  of  it  when 
introduced.  "  To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given  that  he  may  have 
abundantly."  They  that  wait  for  the  coming  of  their  Lord  will 
live  in  near  communion  with  their  God.  They  will  seek  to  be  more 
conformed  to  his  image,  and,  as  adopted  sons,  will  have  more  of 
the  filial  spirit.  They  will  be  more  humble,  more  hopeful,  more 
Christ-like. 

The  kingdom  that  is  to  come  shall  be  a  kingdom  of  holiness, 
of  eminent  consecration  to  God.  Human  energies  and  influence 
shall  then  be,  in  a  manner  heretofore  unknown,  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Great  King.  They,  then,  who  will  hasten  a  con- 
summation so  devoutly  to  be  wished,  and  who  would,  if  per- 
mitted, enjoy  its  blessings,  must  be  eminently  holy.  Holiness 
alone  is  the  power  that  is  to  conquer  the  world,  and  to  give  the 
kingdom  to  Christ.  Men,  money,  learning,  political  power,  facil- 
ities for  rapid  communication  with  all  parts  of  the  world,  will  not 
do  it — though  the  Church  may  abound  and  feel  herself  strong  in 


308  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

all  such  resources,  nothing  short  of  the  resistless,  the  omnipotent 
power  of  holiness,  can  demolish  the  strongholds  of  the  adversary, 
deliver  man  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  and,  by  reinstating  him  in 
the  image  of  his  God,  make  him  a  tit  denizen  in  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem come  down  from  heaven. 

I  scarcely  need  name  united,  fervent  and  effectual  prayer  as 
another  duty  of  those  who  wait  for  the  coming  of  tlieir  Lord. 
Prayer,  the  heart's  desire  for  things  needful,  and  not  inconsistent 
with  the  lionor  of  God  and  the  rights  and  happiness  of  man,  is 
of  divine  appointment,  and  a  necessary  means  by  which  to  pro- 
cure the  thing  sought.  The  Church  may  expect  nothing — no 
progress,  no  increase  of  numbers  or  of  graces,  except  in  answer 
to  prayer.  Would  she  therefore  have  her  Lord  come  speedily, 
and  take  out  of  the  way  all  that  hindereth  his  working,  and  set 
up  his  kingdom  on  earth,  she  must  cry  mightily  to  God  that  he 
would  do  this  great  thing  for  her.  Encouraged  by  such  hopes, 
and  vitalized  by  such  a  faith,  the  people  of  God  will  pray  always 
and  with  all  prayer. 

Another  duty,  and  also  a  characteristic  of  the  age  that  shall 
precede  the  Millennial  period,  is  an  unprecedented  Christian  en- 
terprise, pervaded  and  vitalized  by  an  enlarged,  enlightened  and 
diffusive  benevolence.  Our  age  is  not  lacking  in  bold  enterprise — 
in  adventurous  schemes  of  discovery  —  in  an  active  inventive 
genius — in  gigantic  investments  of  capital — in  plans  of  human 
advancement.  There  is  no  lack  of  energy  and  enterprise  in  de- 
vising and  executing  great  schemes  for  all  sorts  of  worldly  aggran- 
dizement. The  expenditure  of  property  for  these  things  is  enor- 
mous. We  are  amazed  at  the  millions,  the  hundreds  of  millions 
that  are  so  readily  invested  in  railways,  in  telegraphs,  in  mining, 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  operations.  And  we  see  a  pre- 
sage in  these  very  things  that  the  "  good  time  "  is  hastening  on 
apace.     The  Millennium  shall  undoubtedly  be  distinguished  by 


ENLARGED    AND    DIFFUSIVE    BENEVOLENCE.  309 

physical  features  which  are  preparing  in  our  own  age.  That 
period  will  no  doubt  be  characterized  by  great  wealth  ;  but  wealth 
made  tributary  to  the  improvement  and  happiness  of  man — to  the 
real  aoro-randizement  of  the  race.  Works  to  facilitate  internal 
and  international  communication  shall  then  be  perfect.  Science 
and  the  arts  shall  have  made  their  richest  contributions  to  the 
well-being  of  man ;  the  earth  be  made  to  yield  her  supplies  in 
an  abundance  before  unknown ;  and  prosperity  shall  smile  on 
every  human  enterprise.  All  capital  so  invested  as  to  accomplish 
such  ends,  is  doubtless  contributing  to,  and  hastening  the  desired 
era,  though  the  actors  in  these  scenes  may  have  no  such  design. 
They  are  all  made  to  contribute  to  bring  in  the  physical  Millen- 
nium. 

But  it  is  rather  to  the  moral  aspects  of  that  period  to  which  I 
refer,  when  I  speak  of  enlarged  and  diffusive  benevolence  as  an 
imperative  duty  of  the  present  day. 

An  all-controlling  Providence  is  wont  to  set  one  thing  over 
against  another.  A  few  years  past  have  been  years  of  unprece- 
dented prosperity.  Riches  have  increased  in  a  manner  unknown 
in  any  former  age :  at  least  the  professed  people  of  God,  have  had 
more  of  this  world's  wealth  thrown  into  their  possession  than  ever 
before.  Mines  in  the  far  West,  and  in  the  far  East,  have  poured 
forth  their  golden  treasures  without  stint.  Commerce,  manufac- 
tures and  agriculture  have  filled  the  land  with  wealth.  The 
Christian  Church  has,  in  this  respect,  shared  her  full  proportion. 
To  say  nothing  of  the  hoarded  stores  and  the  misapplied  wealth 
of  the  Romish  communion,  there  is  found  in  the  Protestant  Evan- 
gelical Church  immense  riches.  She  can  count  her  miUionaires 
— and  a  great  multitude  who  measure  their  wealth  by  the  hun- 
dreds of  thousands.  We  are  no  doubt  to  regard  this  singular 
worldly  prosperity  of  the  Christian  Church  as  a  significant  prog- 
nostic of  our  times ;  as  an  interesting  link  in  the  chain  of  Di- 


310  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

vine  Providence,  indicating  in  no  doubtful  terms  the  present 
duty  of  the  Church.  For,  on  the  other  hand,  the  same  strong 
arm  has  been  at  work  in  discovering  the  nations  one  to  another ; 
bringing  into  nearer  proximity,  and  preparing  the  way  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel.  The  door  has  been  opened— obstacles  re- 
moved— ^facilities  provided — the  Bible  translated,  and  only  needs 
the  pecuniary  means  in  order  to  give  it  an  indefinite  circulation — 
systems  of  education  inaugurated,  and  only  it  needs  the  momen- 
tum of  an  actual  Christian  benevolence,  to  give  them  all  the  re- 
quired efficiency.  The  field  is  the  world;  and  that  field  has, 
within  the  few  past  years,  been  remarkably  thrown  open  to  evan- 
gelical efforts.  The  day  has  undoubtedly  come  when  the  gos- 
pel shall  be  preached,  as  a  witness,  to  all  nations.  The  angel 
is  now  expediting  his  flight ;  and  soon,  as  a  needful  preparation 
for  the  great  day  of  the  Lord,  shall  the  good  tidings  be  proclaimed, 
and  the  Man  of  Nazareth  be  offered  as  the  Saviour  of  all  men. 

Hitherto  every  effort  of  the  Church  has  been  sadly  crippled 
for  the  want  of  funds.  Compared  with  her  present  resources, 
she  has  been  poor — yet  her  greatest  inability  has  been  in  her 
spiritual  penury.  Her  soul  has  not  been  enlarged  to  consecrate 
her  pecuniary  resources  to  her  Lord.  When  her  members  shall 
make  such  a  consecration,  and  at  the  same  time  lay  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar  of  their  religion  their  time,  talents  and  influence,  the 
world  shall  realize  and  acknowledge  the  Church  to  be  the  light  and 
the  life  of  the  world.  Never  was  there  a  time  when  the  Church 
might  so  effectually  make  friends  of  the  Mammon  of  unrighteous- 
ness. Never  before  could  consecrated  wealth  do  so  much  to  bless 
a  ruined  world,  and  to  bring  in  the  day  which  prophets  have  sung 
and  kings  desired  to  see. 

We  may  not  expect  that  day  till  the  Church  of  the  living  God 
shall  arise  in  her  strength,  and  let  her  light  shine,  and  put  forth 
an  energy  and  enterprise,  and  practice  a  self-denial,  and  exhibit 


DUTY  OF  THE  CHURCH — KNOWLEDGE.        311 

a  benevolence  nothing  less  than  apostolic.  She  must  devote  to 
the  service  of  her  Lord  all  the  agencies  she  can  command — 
whether  of  money,  or  men,  time  or  talents — she  must  make  the 
honor  and  the  progress  of  Christ's  kingdom  the  great  business 
and  aim  of  life.  She  will  then  put  forth  the  whole  power  of  her 
piety :  men  will  then  live,  labor,  get  money  and  spend  it,  as  in  their 
honest  judgment,  they  shall  believe,  will  the  most  effectually  ad- 
vance the  kingdom  of  Immanuel.  And  then,  when  they  pray, 
"  Thy  kingdom  come,"  there  will  be  a  heart  in  it,  a  power,  which 
shall  move  the  powers  of  heaven,  and  soon  unveil,  in  this  lower 
world,  the  glories  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  Our  hopes  of  the 
speedy  coming  of  that  blessed  day  are  in  proportion  to  the  conse- 
cration of  the  Church. 

But  activity  and  enterprise,  and  even  pious  consecration,  are 
not  all.  A  high  standard  of  knowledge,  intelligent  views  of  duty, 
and  a  profound  acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  are  duties  of  a 
kindred  importance.  They  who  have  themselves  been  enlight- 
ened and  tasted  of  the  good  word  of  God  and  "the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come  " — the  dispensation  of  grace  of  which  we 
speak — will  be  moved  to  search  more  and  more  into  the  myste- 
ries of  godliness,  and  the  character  of  the  expected  kingdom. 
They  will  be  more  intelligent — will  seek  to  know  more  of  Grod, 
of  duty,  of  man  and  his  character,  his  history  and  his  destiny ; 
and  more  of  Divine  Providence — how  he  has  carried  on  his  work 
in  past  ages — what  he  seems  about  to  do — what  devolves  on  man 
to  do,  and  how  he  is  to  do  it  ?  As  a  sure  precursor  of  that  day, 
"  knowledge  shall  increase."  The  divine  predictions  shall  now 
especially  possess  new  charms.  Through  them  God  has  fore- 
shadowed the  things  that  shall  come  to  pass.  And  as  their  fulfil- 
ment draws  near,  they  will  appear  to  all  who  are  waiting  for  the 
consolation  of  Israel,  clothed  in  a  new  interest.  All  who  are 
looking  for  the  coming  of  the  long-ago  predicted  era,  will,  like 


312  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF  -THE    WORLD. 

the  holy  men  who  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  spirit 
of  God  and  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come,  inquire 
and  search  diligently,  searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time, 
the  spirit  of  Christ  which  is  in  them  doth  signify. 

If  there  be  signs  in  the  political  and  moral  firmament  that  the 
great  and  glorious  things  foretold  draw  near  their  accomplish- 
ment, then  what  manner  of  men  ought  we  to  be  in  all  holiness 
of  life,  in  untiring  activity,  in  singleness  of  purpose,  in  well- 
directed  and  intelligent  benevolence. 

And  another  duty  of  the  Church  as  well  as  another  character- 
istic of  her  coming  glory,  is  hrotherly  love.  Union  of  heart — 
harmony  of  action,  will  prevail  to  a  degree  never  before  known. 
Denominational  differences  will  be  greatly  lessened,  and,  as  to  all 
practical  purposes,  annihilated.  The  harmony  of  feeling  and 
principle  which  will  then  prevail  will  not  fail  to  produce  a  corres- 
ponding harmony  of  action. 

And  here  it  seems  but  apposite  and  just,  to  express  a  conviction 
which  has  for  some  few  years  been  gaining  strength,  that  a  most 
important  movement  is  making  in  this  direction  by  the  "  Christian 
alliance,"  which  is  hopeful  beyond  any  similar  movement  of  our 
time.  Men  of  enlarged  and  liberal  views,  of  different  nationali- 
ties, and  ecclesiastical  connections — men  of  tried  piety,  of  expe- 
rience, of  influence  and  position,  and  of  a  catholic  spirit,  have 
arisen  in  the  strength  of  their  religious  principles  and  feelings, 
and,  soaring  above  the  straitness  and  selfishness  of  sect,  have 
joined  their  noble  energies  in  one  grand,  concentrated  effort 
against  sin  wherever  found,  and  in  whatever  shape,  and  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness,  irrespective  of  nation- 
ality or  narrow  bigotry.  Is  there  oppression,  or  persecution,  the 
undaunted  hand  of  this  alliance  is  raised  in  stern  remonstrance. 
Does  some  earthly  potentate,  clothed  in  "  a  little  brief  authority," 
attempt  to  desecrate  God's  day,  or  to  arrest  the  mission  of  his 


CHRISTIAN    ALLIANCE.  313 

holy  word  in  its  circuit  around  the  world,  by  excluding  it  from 
his  dominions ;  or  does  some  giant  wrong  prevail,  or  some  cor- 
roding evil  prey  on  its  human  victims,  these  noble  Philanthropists, 
bound  together  and  energized  by  principles  and  feelings  which 
exist  only  to  bless  and  to  bind  together  and  make  strong,  step  for- 
ward in  the  majesty  of  a  righteous  benevolence,  and  rebuke  kings 
and  teach  nations. 

Let  this  alliance  be  encouraged  as  it  ought  to  be  ;  let  the  good 
and  great  of  all  nations  be  joined  in  one  great  brotherhood,  and 
let  them  go  on  from  strength  to  strength,  carrying  out  their  great 
and  good  plans,  and  they  shall  soon,  under  God,  bring  the  world 
into  a  state  that  shall  first  stir  up  to  rebellion  and  conflict  all  the 
opposing  powers  of  sin,  and  then  introduce  the  reign  of  righteous- 
ness on  the  whole  earth.  Yet  our  confidence  here  lies  not  in  the 
men  who  happen  at  present  to  be  the  leaders  of  this  noble  move- 
ment, but  in  the  principles  of  action  by  which  they  are  bound 
together  and  actuated.  Should  these  men  prove  recreant  to  their 
great  trust,  their  principles,  under  other  auspices  and  agents,  will 
not  fail  to  work  out  their  benevolent  mission. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Our  Age — Troublous  times — Safe  to  trust  in  God — The  end  of  the  wicked — 
The  people  of  God  urged  to  renewed  activity. 

In  the  foregoing  pages  I  have  essayed  to  set  forth,  in  as  prac- 
tical a  light  as  possible,  the  long  and  anxiously  looked  for  and 
the  much  prayed  for  event  called  the  Millennium.  It  is  the  period 
predicted  by  ancient  prophets,  and  looked  for  by  ancient  saints. 
While  philosophers  and  Pagan  priests  were  descanting  on  the 
beauties  of  some  "  Golden  Age  "  to  be  realized  in  the  distant  future, 
when  Mammon  should  reign  and  all  sorts  of  physical  and  sensuous 
prosperity  shall  smile  on  the  earth ;  holy  men  of  old  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  a  Divine  monition,  of  a  Golden  Age  which 
should  be  yet  more  remarkably  signalized  by  the  beauties  of 
holiness.  It  shaH  be  the  peaceful  reign  of  Immanuel.  Right- 
eousness shall  be  in  the  ascendant,  and  sin,  which  is  a  reproach  to 
any  people,  shall  hide  in  caves  and  dens  of  the  earth. 

And  I  have  as  distinctly  shown  that  there  come  "  a  falling 
away  first " — the  Man  of  sin  shall  be  revealed — the  last,  great 
and  most  fearful  struggle  of  man's  arch  foe  shall  precede  and 
hasten  on  this  day  of  Zion's  glorious  triumph.  "  These  be  the 
days  of  vengeance,  that  all  things  which  are  written  may  be  ful- 
filled."    But  when  these  things  begin  to  come  to  pass,  then  look 

'v314) 


GREAT    EVENTS.  315 

up,  ye  saints,  and  lift  up  your  heads ;  for  your  redemption  draweth 
nigh. 

In  drawing  our  discussion  to  a  close  certain  reflections  very 
naturally  press  themselves  upon  us.  And  one  of  the  most  obvious 
if  not  the  most  important  is — 

1.  We  live  in  a  solemn  age  of  the  world.  Great  events  are 
transpiring,  and  greater  yet  are  but  a  step  before  us.  The  great 
purposes  of  the  divine  plan  are  steadily  and  speedily  accomplish- 
ing. Nothing  can  frustrate  them.  He  will  accomplish  all  his 
will,  and  none  can  stay  his  hand. 

P^very  day  is  big  with  interest— every  year  brings  forth  its 
great  events.  Every  wind  wafts  some  intelligence  which  pres- 
ages revolution.  Soon  we  may  expect  to  hear  of  the  downfall 
of  the  proud  and  oppressive  empire  of  the  Moslems.  They 
have  scourged  the  Church,  have  vexed  the  nations,  tormented 
the  earth  near  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  and  slain  a  third 
part  of  our  race.  And,  as  nearly  simultaneous  with  this,  we  look 
for  the  ingathering  of  the  Jews^  the  overthrow  of  Paganism,  and 
the  downfall  of  spiritual  Babylon.  And  in  connection  with  these 
things,  partly  growing  out  of  them,  and  partly  producing  them,  we 
look  for  the  great  Battle,  the  conflict  of  the  joint  powers  of  sin 
against  piety,  and  the  apparent  victory,  and  the  short  triumph  of 
the  enemy,  called  the  "  slaying  of  the  Witnesses."  And  we  look, 
too,  that,  when  the  nations  shall  be  exceeding  angry — when  sin  shall 
have  had  its  triumph  and  Satan  filled  up  the  measure  of  his  iniquity, 
He  that  hath  written  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh,  the  Lord  of 
lords  and  the  King  of  kings,  shall  come  to  the  conflict — shall  set 
up  liis  standard — and  soon  it  shall  be  proclaimed.  The  kingdoms 
of  this  world  have  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ;  and  he  shaU  reign  forever. 

Thus  shall  end  the  great  Drama.  He  shall  overturn  and  over- 
turn, till  He  whose  right  it  is  shall  come  and  reign. 


316  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    TKE    WORLD. 

These  are  things  that  may  shortly  come  to  pass.  Events 
thicken  upon  us.  We  hasten  to  the  grand  consummation.  Ten 
years  may  bring  us  into  a  period  of  intense  interest.  Are  we 
prepared — is  the  Church  prepared  to  meet  it  ?  Days  of  sorrow 
and  of  joy,  of  darkness  and  of  sunshine,  of  persecution  and  of 
prosperity  are  before  us — days  of  a  short  and  galUng  thraldom,  and 
of  glorious  liberty  and  enlargement  as  the  sons  of  God.  Never 
has  there  been  a  time  when  Christians  needed  more  knowledge 
and  grace,  more  firmness  and  courage, — the  need  of  the  whole 
panoply. 

Associated  as  we  are  with,  and  bound  to  take  a  part  in  the 
vast  affairs  of  a  day  like  the  present,  what  a  responsibility  is  laid 
on  us  to  live  worthy  our  times  ?  How  misplaced  and  ill-timed  to 
trifle — to  live  for  naught!  How  urgently  are  we  pressed  to 
greater  diligence.  Never  was  a  time  when  our  prayers  were  so 
likely  to  be  answered,  or  our  activities  would  be  of  so  much  ser- 
vice in  the  world's  emancipation. 

2.  Troublous  times  are  times  of  strength.  This  the  individual 
Christian  often  has  occasion  to  feel  and  acknowledge.  He  grows 
and  invigorates  the  most  in  the  Christian  life.  Not  when  he 
dwells  in  inglorious  ease,  and  is  fanned  by  the  genial  breezes  of 
prosperity,  but  when  he  is  beaten  upon  by  the  merciless  storms 
of  adversity — when  every  moral  muscle  of  his  soul  is  nerved  to 
action  by  the  stem  hand  of  necessity  or  affliction.  The  strong 
men  in  Christ  have  been  made  in  troublous  times.  They  have 
been  made  bold  by  the  wicked  resistance  of  the  foe  ;  their  faith 
has  waxed  strong,  and  their  hopes  bright,  and  their  love  ardent, 
and  their  prayers  importunate  and  effective,  when  dangers  have 
beset  them,  and  persecutions  have  assailed  them,  and  deaths 
manifold  and  appalling,  have  awaited  them.  The  apostles  were 
strong  men ;  they  lived  in  troublous  times.  And  of  those  might- 
iest, Paul  was  the  mightiest.     But  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gen- 


LANGUISHMENT    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    PROSPERITY.      317 

tiles  was  hardened  for  his  warfare,  by  a  training  severe  in  pro- 
portion to  the  valor  he  was  afterwards  to  display.  "  In  strifes 
above  measure;  in  prisons  more  frequent;  thrice  shipwrecked 
and  left  to  buffet  a  day  and  a  night  in  the  deep ;  thrice  beaten 
with  rods  and  once  stoned ;  and  in  perils  by  land  and  by  sea,  in 
the  city  and  in  the  country,  from  friends  and  from  foes ;  from  his 
own  brethren  and  from  the  heathen ;  and  in  deaths  oft — these 
are  the  things  which  had  much  to  do  to  make  Paul  the  strong 
man  he  was. 

The  early  Reformers  were  strong  men ;  and  under  God,  they 
were  made  so  by  the  troublous  times  in  which  they  lived. 

But  we  speak  now  rather  of  the  Church  collectively.  In  the 
time  of  her  quiet — ^in  the  absence  of  persecution,  and  when  pros- 
perity smiles,  and  the  world  favors,  and  religion  is  popular,  the 
life,  the  soul  of  the  Church  is  then  sure  to  languish.  Worldly 
prosperity  has  always  been  the  bane  of  the  Church.  Whenever 
she  has  been  nurtured  on  the  lap  of  wealth,  or  robed  in  the 
purple  and  fine  linen  of  courtly  favor,  and  fared  sumptuously  in 
the  high  places  of  worldly  distinction,  she  has  become  weak  and 
sickly ;  her  energies  relaxed,  her  spiritual  strength  extinct,  her 
power  to  resist  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  paralyzed,  and 
she  helpless  and  impotent  in  the  face  of  a  wicked  world,  and 
quite  unfitted  to  make  aggressions  on  them  that  are  without. 
When  Zion  is  at  her  ease,  she  is  quite  at  the  mercy  of  the  world. 

But  when  in  times  of  trouble  she  is  compelled  to  act  on  the 
defensive,  and  struggle  for  her  life,  and  is  forced  to  lay  hold  on 
the  Almighty  arm  for  her  strength,  then  she  begins  to  be  strong. 
She  is  always  and  only  strong  in  the  omnipotence  of  her  God. 
It  is  only  when  in  her  troubles  she  is  brought  low,  and  made  to 
feel  her  weakness,  and  her  dependence  on  her  Almighty  Friend, 
that  she  is  clothed  with  a  power  which  the  world  cannot  resist. 
She  will  then  so  humble  herself,  and  exercise  such  a  faith,  and 


.318  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

offer  up  such  prayers,  and  illustrate  in  living  examples  such  truths, 
doctrines  and  precepts,  as  shall  engage  all  the  resources  of  Heaven 
in  her  behalf.  And  when  the  great  King  shall  make  bare  his 
arm  to  avenge  the  cause  of  his  elect,  how  shall  his  people  be 
made  strong — how  shall  the  enemy  be  discomfited  and  Zion  arise 
in  the  strength  of  her  omnipotent  Leader ! 

As  the  great  conflict  of  which  I  have  spoken  shall  draw  near, 
as  the  Beast,  the  False  Prophet  and  the  Dragon,  shall  arouse 
their  hosts  once  in  deadly  combat  with  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High,  Zion  will  again  see  troublous  times.  The  days  of  perse- 
cution shall  return — a  martyr's  crown  may  again  be  as  dearly 
purchased  as  in  the  darkest  day  Zion  ever  saw.  The  witnesses 
shall  be  slain  ;  the  triumph  of  their  enemies  shall  be  more  com- 
plete and  universal  than  has  ever  yet  been  known.  This  shall 
be  the  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness ;  and  yet  it  shall  be  a 
period  which  shall  give  birth  to  great  and  strong  men  in  Zion. 
Faith  shall  then  plant  her  root  deeper  in  the  secret  recesses  of 
the  soul,  and,  taking  root  downwards,  it  shall  more  richly  thac 
ever  bear  fruit  upwards.  The  sons  of  Zion,  inured  to  the  trials, 
afflictions  and  persecutions  of  that  day,  will  be  strong  in  the  Lord 
and  in  the  might  of  his  power. 

That  was  especially  the  "hour  and  the  power  of  darkness," 
when  the  disciples  were  scattered  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd, 
because  their  Lord  and  Master  was  seized  and  taken  away  to  be 
crucified  and  slain.  Faith  failed  them  and  hope  died  within  them. 
All  seemed  lost.  They  trusted  it  had  been  He  who  should  redeem 
Israel.  But  the  enemy  had  prevailed  over  him ;  and  no  human 
hope  remained  that  he  would  overcome  the  foe  and  realize  to  them 
what  he  had  promised.  Yet  this  was  a  day  of  strength.  Though 
it  was  the  annihilation  of  all  human  hopes,  the  apparent  frustra- 
tion of  all  human  agencies  and  the  utter  failure  of  all  man's  ex- 
pedients, it  was  the  very  juncture  of  the  most  glorious  and  effect- 


THE    SAFETY    OF    TRUSTING    IN    GOD.  319 

ive  interposition  of  the  Divine  Arm.  This  was  the  day  on 
which  Zion  was  clothed  with  new  power :  the  day  when  she  put 
on  her  strength  and  went  forth  in  the  might  of  Heaven  to  the 
conquest  of  the  world. 

The  dark  cloud  which  we  believe  will  yet  overshadow  the 
Church,  the  day  of  dreadful  conflict  and  apparent  overthrow, 
shall,  in  like  manner,  be  a  day  of  renewed,  and  of  unprecedented 
power  to  the  Church  of  God. 

3.  We  infer  the  safety  of  trusting  in  God.  He  that,  in  the  day 
of  trouble,  leans  on  the  Almighty  arm,  though  he  stumble,  he  shall 
not  fall.  Though  he  fall,  he  shall  rise  again.  His  feet  are  placed 
on  the  Rock.  God  has  ever  had  a  people  in  the  world  whom  he 
keeps  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  If  opposed,  persecuted  or  slain,  he 
will  vindicate  their  cause  and  avenge  their  wrongs.  "  When  they 
went  from  one  nation  to  another,  from  one  kingdom  to  another 
people,  he  suffered  no  man  to  do  them  wrong ;  yea,  he  reproved 
kings  for  their  sake;  saying,  Touch  not  mine  anointed,  and  do 
my  prophets  no  harm."  If  crushed  and  trodden  down  he  will 
raise  them  up.  No  weapon  formed  against  his  Church  can  pros- 
per. He  will  complete  the  work  he  has  begun  and  crown  his  name 
with  glory  in  spite  of  all  the  confederated  hosts  of  sin  and  hell. 
All  that  trust  in  Him  are  safe. 

The  Church  shall  live  and  prosper.  She  will  be  assailed  as 
she  always  has  been.  All  sorts  of  devices  will  be  formed  against 
her ;  all  sorts  of  weapons  will  be  employed.  Her  hay.  wood  and 
stubble  must  be  burnt  out ;  yet  she  shall  live  and  prosper  and 
finally  triumph.  Sin  in  every  form  and  disguise  will  assail  her ; 
learning,  wealth,  fashion,  civil  power,  will  combine  their  strength 
to  undermine,  if  possible,  and  break  down  the  walls  of  our  Zion. 
Ignorance  and  vice  conjoined,  will  calumniate  her;  philosophy 
will  cavil ;  infidelity  will  rage  or  decoy — will  attack  her  as  an 
angel  of  light  in  the  stolen  robes  of  the  sanctuary,  or  in  the  native 


320  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    AVOKLD. 

Ugliness  of  its  own  deformity.  Hypocrites  within  may  play  the 
traitor,  and  zealots  without,  with  a  fire-brand  in  the  one  hand  and 
honeyed  words  of  gospel  love  in  the  other,  may  promise  the  world 
peace  and  purity  and  all  good,  if  we  will  only  follow  hard  in  their 
wake,  and  just  help  them  first  demolish  the  fair  fabric  of  Zion, 
that  they  may  build  on  its  ruins  a  more  stately  and  resplendent 
mansion ;  yet  the  Church  shall  live  and  prosper. 

The  evangelical  Church  of  Europe  and  America,  corrupt  as 
she  may  be — human  in  foibles,  defections  and  sins  as  she  may 
be,  is  still,  in  a  moral  point,  head  and  shoulders  above  any  other 
organization  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and  simply  as  a  reforming 
society^  she  is  far,  far  in  advance  of  any  other  reforming  body  ever 
organized.  She  is,  and  always  has  been  the  sun,  in  comparison 
of  which  all  other  reforming  bodies  are  but  stars — blazing  stars 
— comets,  it  may  be,  which,  sometimes  in  transient  effulgence, 
threaten  to  put  out  the  light  of  the  sun.  Yet  the  sun  stands, 
shines,  enlightens  and  enlivens,  clouds  or  no  clouds,  blazing  stars 
and  meteors  notwithstanding — and  so  she  will  till  the  end  of  time. 
Though  she  may  for  a  little  time  be  overwhelmed  by  the  floods 
which  the  Dragon  shall  send  out  after  her,  yet  shall  she  live  and 
prosper,  and  be  received  and  honored  at  last  of  her  Master,  while 
all  who  honor  and  love  her  not,  shall  be  destroyed  by  the  "  bright- 
ness of  his  coming." 

•='  Though  hand  joined  in  hand,"  the  wicked  shall  not  prosper. 
"  Their  covenant  with  death  shall  be  disanulled  and  their  agree- 
ment with  hell  shall  not  stand ;  when  the  overflowing  scourge 
shall  pass  through,  then  they  shall  be  trodden  down  by  it." 

4.  We  would  not  here  suppress  a  reflection  of  a  very  serious 
character,  which  has  so  often  pressed  on  our  mind  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  these  pages.  It  is  this :"  What  a  final  and  total  calamity^ 
at  such  a  time,  not  to  he  on  the  side  of  the  Lord! 

If  God  be  about  to  rise  and  shake  terribly  the  eai'th — if  he  is 


HAZARDOUS    NOT    TO    BE    ON    THE    SIDE    OF    GOD.        321 

hastening  all  things  with  such  a  fearful  rapidity  as  we  have  sup- 
posed— if  the  crisis  is  rapidly  approaching,  and  God  has  risen  up 
to  avenge  the  cause  of  his  elect ;  and,  after  allowing  his  enemies 
a  temporary  triumph,  if  he  will  crush  them  forever  beneath  his 
dreadful  power,  and  bind  and  cast  into  the  Pit  him  that  hath 
power  of  sin  and  death,  how  dreadful,  how  fatally  hazardous  not 
to  be  on  the  side  of  such  a  God !  God  has  allowed  the  wicked 
for  a  little  time  to  resist  his  law,  to  defy  his  power,  to  mouth  the 
heavens,  to  despise  his  mercy,  to  trample  on  his  goodness,  to  do 
despite  to  the  spirit  of  his  grace  and  reject  the  offer  of  his  only 
Son.  But  the  day  approaches 'when  his  forbearance  will  cease, 
when  his  mercy  will  be  clean  gone  forever.  Who  shall  stand 
when  he  shall  appear  ?  He  shall  come  in  his  judgments — in  the 
pestilence,  by  the  sword  and  by  famine.  By  all  the  dreadful 
agencies  of  nature,  and  no  less  by  the  violence  of  man  as  armed 
against  his  fellow-man,  multitudes  on  multitudes  of  a  wicked  race 
shall  be  destroyed,  till  the  wicked  shall  cease  to  be. 

But  this  dreadful  destruction  can  harm  none  but  the  enemies 
of  God.  They  whose  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life,  though  their  bodies  may  perish  in  the  great  conflict,  their 
immortal  spirits  are  joined  to  God  by  ties  that  can  never  be 
severed.  Heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Jesus  Christ,  noth- 
ing can  harm  them. 

But  another  thought  is  here  suggested.  It  is  none  other  than 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  shall  come  thus  dressed  in  vengeance 
to  avenge  his  people,  and  to  punish  and  to  destroy  his  enemies. 
The  Lamb  once  slain  for  sinners — ^the  Good  Samaritan  who  came 
to  pour  the  wine  and  the  oil  into  the  wounds  which  sin  has  made 
— who  came  to  pity  our  low  estate  and  to  blot  out  our  trans- 
gressions— who  was  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities — 
who  enters  into  the  secret  chamber  of  our  grief  and  is  afflicted 

in  all  our  afflictions ;  it  is  He  that  shall  come  with  his  mighty 
21 


322  THE    COMING   CRISIS    OF   THE   WORLD. 

angels,  revealed  in  flaming  fire,  to  take  vengeance  on  them  that 
know  not  God  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  his  Son.  Now  he  is 
the  dispenser  of  pardon  to  the  penitent  no  more.  He  is  the  Ex- 
ecutor of  the  divine  wrath  on  the  ungodly. 

"  Kjss  the  Son  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from  the  way 
when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little." 

Once  his  was  the  voice  of  love,  inviting  the  sinner  to  turn  and 
live,  in  accents  soft  and  sweet  as  the  breath  of  heaven.  Now  his 
words  are  as  the  thunder-tones  of  wrath,  speaking  eternal  ban- 
ishment from  his  presence  to  the  guilty  soul  who  would  none  of 
his  counsels.  "  Fear  not  him  who  can  only  kill  the  body ;  but 
I  forewarn  you  whom  ye  shall  fear ;  fear  him  who,  when  he  hath 
killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell.  Yea,  I  say  unto  you,  fear 
him!" 

Be  at  peace,  then,  with  God.  Make  man  your  eneiny  if  you 
will,  engage  against  you  all  the  resources  of  the  mightiest  earthly 
monarch ;  let  the  world  arm  against  you.  It  is  not  much  that 
they  can  do.  They  can  but  kill  the  body.  But  make  God  your 
Friend ;  secure  a  saving  interest  in  the  atonement  and  interces- 
ion  of  his  dear  Son,  and  you  are  safe.  You  are  prepared  for 
those  things  which  must  shortly  come  upon  the  earth.  Nation 
may  be  dashed  against  nation — the  earth  be  shaken — the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  may  come,  and  the  wicked  be  as 
chaff  before  the  wind,  if  God  be  on  our  side,  we  have  nothing  to 
fear. 

How  unequal  and  unavailing  then  is  the  warfare  of  the  wicked 
against  the  Church  of  God  /  They  may  boast  themselves  for  a 
time  and  speak  great  swelling  words.  They  may  think  to  break 
the  bands  of  restraint  and  raise  the  standard  of  rebellion,  but 
their  attempts  are  all  futile.  God  will  sorely  judge  all  them  that 
raise  a  hand  against  his  Church.  Yet  he  will  use  them  as  his 
scourge.     He  will  chastise  his  people  and  bring  them  low,  and 


CHRIST   TOUR   ROCK   AND    SALVATION.  323 

bring  them  back  to  their  allegiance,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  those,  who,  through  the  pretext  of  healing  their  backshdings, 
would  overcome  and  destroy  and  kill  them.  But  when  these 
modern  Assyrians  shall  have  accomplished  the  purpose  designed, 
God  will  put  his  hook  in  their  nose  and  his  bridle  in  their  lips, 
and  turn  them  back  by  the  way  by  which  they  came. 

And  how  inevitable,  I  repeat,  is  the  destruction  of  the  wicked. 
God  may  for  a  time  give  them  the  desires  of  their  hearts.  He 
may  allow  them  the  length  of  their  line — allow  them  to  show  ojf 
their  real  character,  and  to  exemphfy  their  own  principles  to  their 
disgrace  and  final  ruin.  He  may  make  them  fit  subjects  by  which 
for  a  time  to  exhibit  his  extreme  forbearance  towards  the  sinner — 
or,  in  the  swift  destruction  which  comes  upon  them,  to  give  to  his 
saints  renewed  assurance,  that  he  will  avenge  the  cause  of  his 
elect. 

If  the  sinner  will  not  be  reconciled  to  God,  no  power  in  the 
universe  can  save  him.  He  must  perish.  Sooner,  I  say  again, 
might  you  hope  to  roll  back  the  wheels  of  time,  or  change  the 
ordinances  of  heaven,  than  save  the  sinner  who  will  not  have  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  reign  over  him.  Flee,  then,  and  take  ref- 
uge in  him.  He  is  your  Rock  and  your  salvation — ^your  strong 
tower  in  the  day  of  trouble. 

Trust  in  Him  and  you  are  safe — though  the  tempest  howl  and 
the  floods  come — though  the  sea  roar  and  the  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  be  broken  up — though  the  earth  totter  beneath  you, 
and  the  heavens  gather  blackness  over  you. 

There  was  never  a  time  when  it  was  so  fearful  a  thing  to  rest 
in  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God.  God  is  now  as  never  before 
riding  forth  to  victory.  He  is  accelerating  his  plans  for  the  com- 
plete and  final  overthrow  of  sin ;  and  if  the  sinner  do  not  escape, 
he  must  inevitably  perish  in  the  general  ruin. 

5.  At  such  a  day  as   this  Christians  ought  to  stand  abased 


324  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

and  rebuked  on  account  of  their  apathy  in  the  service  of  their 
Divine  Master.  How  slow  are  they  to  believe,  and  how  indiffer- 
ently do  they  go  about  the  business  of  their  Lord.  All  things 
they  see  hastening  to  a  fearful  crisis.  The  wheels  of  Providence 
roll  on  with  accelerated  speed.  The  promises  are  fulfilling,  the 
great  purposes  of  God  are  fast  accomplishing — his  threatenings 
are  executed — and  all  things  are  indicating  that  the  present  scene 
of  the  great  Drama  is  fast  coming  to  a  close ;  and  that,  after  the 
commotions  of  a  short  and  terrific  interval,  another  scene,  more 
glorious,  to  the  wicked  more  dreadful,  shall  follow.  Never  since 
Christ  had  a  Church  on  the  earth,  were  his  people  so  loudly  called 
upon  to  double  their  diligence — to  stand  forth  as  the  humble,  fear- 
less champions  of  the  cross — to  throw  their  whole  souls  into  the 
work — to  lay  body,  soul,  time,  talent,  wealth,  influence,  all  upon 
the  altar  of  their  religion,  and  to  serve  the  Lord  Christ  with  an 
unreserved  devotion  and  singleness  of  heart. 

No  plainer  or  safe  rule  of  duty  can  be  prescribed  than  that  the 
people  of  God  should  work  where  and  when  God  works.  As,  in 
his  Providence,  God  leads  the  way,  his  people  are  to  follow. 
Wherever  he  opens  the  door  for  the  exercise  of  their  benevolent 
feelings  and  Christian  activities,  they  must  enter  and  cheerfully 
employ  their  graces  and  activities.  It  devolves  on  the  present 
generation  of  Christians  not  only  to  diffuse  a  knowledge  of  their 
religion,  as  Providence  has  opened  a  wide  and  effectual  way,  but 
on  them  devolves  the  duty  of  defending  the  truth  against  the  in- 
sidious attacks  of  skepticism  and  irreligion.  Never  did  the  cause 
of  our  blessed  religion  need  more  humble  and  fearless  advocates. 
The  Church  militant  of  the  present  day  occupies  a  position  not 
unlike  that  of  a  besieging  army  which  has  for  a  long  time  been 
beleaguering  some  stronghold  of  the  enemy.  At  length,  after  in- 
cessant toil,  suffering  and  expense,  the  day  has  come  for  the  last 
grand  attack.     They  are  now  to  make  a  final,  desperate  onset,  and 


EVERT  MAN   TO   DO   HIS   DUTY.  325 

the  victory  shall  be  theirs.  Now  more  than  ever  it  will  be  ex- 
pected that  every  man  shall  do  his  duty.  Delinquency,  apathy, 
desertion,  cowardice  now  would  be  doubly  criminal.  Every  arm 
must  now  be  made  bare  for  the  fight ;  every  muscle  must  be  ex- 
erted ;  every  needed  sacrifice  must  now  be  made  to  strike  the  final 
blow.  Dangers  have  thickened — the  crisis  has  come,  and  now  as 
never  before  every  man  must  stand  at  his  post. 

The  people  of  the  living  God  are  about  to  besiege  the  army  of 
the  aliens  in  their  last  strongholds.  The  hardest  battle  remains 
to  be  fought ;  the  greatest  victory  to  be  won.  And  never  did  the 
great  Captain  of  our  salvation  more  imperatively  demand  that 
every  man,  each  in  his  own  sphere  and  according  to  his  ability, 
stand  faithfully  and  fearlessly  at  his  post,  and  every  man  do 

HIS    OVTN    DUTY. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Earth  the  future  and  final  residence  of  the  Saints — The  Scripture  proof — 
Heaven  a  place — and  what  place  more  suitable  or  more  probable  ? — good 
enough,  pleasant  enough,  aud  large  enough. 

In  the  midst  of  these  troublous  times,  when  nation  is  dashed 
against  nation  and  the  "  world  is  turned  upside  down,"  it  will  not 
seem  out  of  place  to  contemplate  the  emergence  of  this  distracted 
world  of  ours  out  of  such  a  chaos,  and  its  happy  restitution  to  its 
primeval  beauty  and  blessedness.  We  have  said  enough  of  tur- 
moils, convulsions  and  overtumings.  We  come  now  to  inquire 
if  our  earth  have  not  a  different  destiny.  Shall  her  fair  face  be 
forever  deformed  by  wars  and  tumults,  by  violence  and  corrup- 
tion ?  and  then,  after  a  respite  of  a  thousand  years,  shall  she  come 
to  a  violent  death,  the  victim  of  a  fearful  conflagration  ?  The 
direction  given  to  the  reader's  mind  in  the  foregoing  chapters  may 
have  created  some  interest  to  inquire  after  the  final  destiny  of  the 
earth,  and  of  its  teeming  multitudes  of  immortal  men.  Its  pre- 
vious history  has  been  sufficiently  marvellous — the  foregoing 
drama  wonderful  enough,  to  justify  the  expectation,  that,  as  the 
plot  thickens  and  the  finale  approaches,  the  end  shall  be  grand 
and  enduring  beyond  human  conception. 

There  are  scattered  through  the  Bible  a  class  of  texts  which 
C  326) 


EARTH   TO    BE    CHANGED.  327 

seem  to  contravene  the  more  generally  received  idea  that,  after  a 
few  generations,  this  globe  of  ours  shall  cease  to  be  the  habitation 
of  man.  No  doubt  the  earth  shall  undergo  a  change  so  radi- 
cal and  complete  as  to  justify  language  being  used  to  describe 
it  which  seems  to  imply  its  destruction.  So  complete  shall  be 
the  renovation  and  remodeling  of  the  earth  that  old  things  are 
said  to  have  passed  away  and  all  things  to  have  become  new. 
Hence  it  is  called  a  "  new  earth : "  which,  by  way  of  implication, 
justifies  the  use  of  the  term  "  destruction,"  as  applied  to  the  ren- 
ovating and  new-modeling  process  which  this  globe  shall  undergo, 
as  a  preparation  for  the  future  residence  of  the  saints. 

The  texts  referred  to  are  such  as  these :  *•  Blessed  are  the  meek, 
for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth."  In  the  37th  Psalm  a  similar 
declaration  is  made  no  less  than  five  times :  "  They  that  wait  on 
the  Lord  shall  inherit  the  earth."  "  The  meek  shall  inherit  the 
earth  and  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace."  "  Such 
as  be  blessed  of  him  shall  inherit  the  earth."  "  The  righteous  shall 
inherit  the  land  and  dwell  therein  foreverJ'  The  latter  defines 
the  import  of  the  phrase  "  inherit  the  earth."  Again,  Canaan, 
the  type  of  heaven,  was  given  to  xVbraham  and  his  seed,  as  an 
everlasting  possession.  And  to  Israel,  restored  and  reinstated  in 
the  land,  the  promise  is  that "  they  shall  dwell  therein,  even  they 
and  their  children,  and  their  children's  children  forever',  and  my 
servant  David  shall  be  their  prince  forever." 

While  all  will  concede  that  these  texts  teach,  at  least,  that  the 
righteous  shall  possess  more  of  the  life  that  now  is — they  shall 
enjoy  more — shall  live  longer  —  shall  have  more  name  and 
memorial  among  men — have  more  of  real  life  than  the  wicked ; 
yet  these  texts  teach  more.  They  teach  that  this  earth,  when 
it  shall  have  been  renovated — purified  by  fire  and  fitted  up  for 
the  purpose,  shall  be  the  final  and  eternal  residence  of  the  saints. 
It  shall  be  their  heaven :  the  New  Jerusalem  come  down  from 


328  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

heaven.  The  plain  import  of  the  scriptures  already  quoted  would 
seem  to  teach  this.  Although  true,  in  the  sense  explained,  that 
they  who  fear  God  and  love  and  work  righteousness,  live  to  a 
much  greater  purpose  and  realize  more  of  this  present  life  than 
the  wicked  do,  we  believe  it  likewise  true  that  this  earth  shall  be 
the  everlasting  possession  of  the  children  of  God.  The  reason 
for  such  a  belief  we  find, 

1.  In  the  class  of  scriptures  already  quoted. 

There  is  not  the  least  intimation  that  the  meaning  of  these  pas- 
sages should  be  limited  to  the  present  life.  Their  plain,  literal 
meaning  is  obviously  what  I  have  intimated.  And  the  same  idea 
is  included  in  the  song  of  the  redeemed  about  the  throne.  They 
sing,  "  Thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood 
out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  and  nation  ;  and  hast 
made  us  unto  God  kings  and  priests ;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the 
earth"  Were  it  the  design  of  the  sacred  writers  to  teach  that 
this  earth  shall  be  the  future  and  the  final  residence  of  the  re- 
deemed, we  do  not  see  that  they  would  have  used  stronger  lan- 
guage than  we  find  already  on  record.  And  in  corroboration  of 
such  a  construction  I  remark, 

2.  This  earth  is  as  likely  to  he  the  appointed  habitation  of  the 
redeemed  of  God  as  any  other  planet  or  world,  which  God  has 
made.  As  heaven  is  undoubtedly  a  place,  a  local  residence  for 
material  bodies,  it  must  be  some  one,  or  more  of  the  worlds  which 
compose  God's  universe.  The  spiritual  body  is,  nevertheless,  a 
material  body  and  must  have  a  material  habitation.  Christ's  res- 
urrection body  could  be  touched  and  handled,  and  consequently 
supposed  a  local  habitation  for  its  residence.  Elijah  and  Enoch 
disappeared  from  earth  in  their  human  bodies  (as  also  did  those 
saints  who  rose  when  Christ  came  from  the  grave)  :  changed  no 
doubt  from  corruptible  to  incorruptible,  from  mortal  to  immortal. 
All  the  saints  shall  have  such  bodies  as  Christ  and  these  trans- 


FUTURE   RESIDENCE    OF   THE    SAINTS.  329 

lated  saints  possess,  and  as  the  angels  possess ;  and  must  conse- 
quently hereafter  occupy  a  material  world  for  their  eternal  hab- 
itation. And  why  should  we  search  among  the  stars  for  a  world 
more  likely  to  become  their  habitation  ?  Or  why  should  we  try 
to  persuade  ourselves  that  any  world  that  rolls  around  in  its  orbit, 
in  obedience  to  the  sovereign  will,  should  be  a  more  suitable  local- 
ity for  such  a  residence  than  their  own  native-born  earth  ?  As 
far,  at  least,  as  strong  probabilities  go  for  proof,  we  can  feel  little 
difficulty  in  assuming, 

3.  That  this  earth  of  ours  is  the  more  probable,  and,  as  far  as 
we  can  form  a  judgment  in  the  matter,  the  most  proper  place  for 
the  future  residence  and  beatification  of  the  saints.  It  is  their 
native  home.  They  were  born — twice  bom,  here.  They  are 
bound  here  by  every  tie  of  consanguinity  and  relationship.  All 
their  associations  of  childhood,  youth  and  manhood  are  here. 
Here  they  have  rejoiced  and  here  they  have  wept.  Here  sinned 
and  here  repented,  and  here  found  forgiveness  in  the  atoning  blood. 
And  above  all,  as  rendering  earth  the  dearest  spot  in  all  the  uni- 
verse, this  world  of  all  others  was  honored  as  the  birthplace  of 
our  blessed  Immanuel,  God  with  us.  Here  he  was  cradled  in  the 
manger.  The  dust  of  our  earth  was  consecrated  by  his  sacred 
feet ;  and  it  was  over  the  hills  and  through  the  valleys  of  man's 
earthly  habitations  that  our  blessed  Lord  went  about  doing  good 
— ministering  to  human  wants  and  healing  human  infirmities.  It 
was  here,  as  a  man,  among  men,  that  he  taught  the  way  of  life, 
that  he  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light.  And  above  all, 
it  was  here  that  he  bore  his  cross  up  the  hill  of  Calvary,  and 
there  breathed  out  his  life  upon  the  accursed  tree.  Calvary  has 
a  history  in  the  records  of  every  saint,  which  no  other  spot  in  all 
the  universe  can  by  any  possibility  have.  It  is  consecrated  by 
an  act  with  which  is  associated  all  his  hopes  of  eternal  life.  It 
is  consecrated  by  the  blood  which  alone  can  wash  away  his  sin. 


330  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WORLD. 

No  Other  world  has  a  Calvary — no  other  world  a  spot  so  dear  as 
Calvary.  The  cross  is  the  great  centre  of  hope,  and  affection, 
and  adoration  of  the  whole  company  of  the  redeemed.  Why 
then  transfer  it  from  its  native  place  on  Calvary  ?  Why  think 
to  erect  it  on  some  other  globe  ?  It  belongs  to  this  earth,  and 
we  see  not  why  it  should  ever  be  removed  hence. 

4.  But  we  may  establish  the  same  strong  probability  from 
another  point.  The  entire  history  of  our  world  indicates  such  a 
destiny.  Our  world  is  a  growth — rather  a  development.  From 
the  moment  of  its  earliest  history,  when  it  came  from  the  hand  of 
creative  power,  without  "  form  and  void,"  to  the  present  moment,  it 
has  been  a  continual  progress — a  progress  which  has  already  occu- 
pied an  indefinite  and  unknown  series  of  ages  to  accomplish,  but 
which  yet  seems  to  give  no  indications  of  soon  reaching  its  con- 
summation. 

The  first  glimpse  we  have  of  our  world,  as  an  entity  of  history, 
was  that  of  an  unsightly  mass  of  matter ;  without  beauty,  form  or 
utility,  incapable  of  producing  or  sustaining  either  vegetable  or 
animal  life,  and  containing  neither  soil,  mineral  or  precious  stone. 
It  was  but  a  confused  mass  of  raw  material,  out  of  which  cre- 
ative skill  and  wisdom  and  power  should  form  all  the  endless 
varieties  of  things,  animate  and  inanimate,  which  now  bless  and 
beautify  the  earth.  Step  by  step  the  work  proceeds.  What  the 
Bible,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  includes  in  the  simple  term 
creation,  seems  to  comprehend  the  work  of  not  less  than  six  in- 
definitely long  periods,  in  which  each  successive  step  was  a 
decided  advance  on  the  preceding. 

The  first  grand  period  saw  the  confused  and  unsightly  mass  sep- 
arate into  land  and  water.  The  sea  and  fountains  of  water  were 
formed,  and  the  dry  land  appeared.  Rocks,  minerals,  metals,  and 
a  soil  were  made ;  and  an  atmosphere  was  spread  about  the  globe, 
and  the  light  made  to  appear.     Then  follows  an  age  in  which  a 


MAN    IN    THE    NEW   JERUSALEM.  331 

series  of  chemical  changes,  internal  convulsions,  and  external 
revolutions  so  far  advance  that  the  earth  gives  existence  to  vege- 
table life,  or  life  in  its  lowest  type ;  the  conditions  for  the  pro- 
duction and  support  of  animal  life  not  yet  existing.  But  ages 
roll  on.  The  needful  changes  take  place,  and  animal  life,  first  in 
its  lower  grades,  appears :  fishes  swim  in  the  waters,  and  fowls 
sport  in  the  air.  And  as  we  make  one  more  mighty  stride  on 
the  wings  of  time,  we  behold  the  fields  rejoicing  in  their  sporting 
tenants — the  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills — all  the  higher  orders 
of  life  have  taken  possession  of  the  fields  and  the  groves,  and 
they  luxuriate  in  the  bounty  of  their  maker's  hand. 

All  this  had  been  but  preparatory  to  the  creation  of,  and  the 
establishing  in  his  position  as  lord  over  this  lower  creation,  the 
creature  man.  This  was  indeed  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  our 
world.  The  most  marked  that  had  jet  traiispired.  All  before 
had  been  preparatory  to  this.  And  even  this,  we  shall  see,  was 
little  more  than  preparatory  to  what  should  follow. 

From  this  point  we  descend  the  mighty  stream  of  human  affairs, 
tracing  the  progress  of  man,  and  of  the  world  which  was  built 
for  his  theatre  of  action,  widening  and  deepening  in  the  advance- 
ment of  knowledge  and  science  and  civilization,  and  more  especially 
in  the  ever  onward  and  upward  developments  of  religion,  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  purposes  of  mercy  through  the  ever  blessed 
atonement,  till  we  find  ourselves  at  length  in  the  broad  sea  of 
the  Millennial  glory.  And  then,  by  another  stride,  more  grand, 
more  glorious  than  all  before,  man  becomes  the  inhabitant  of 
the  New  Jerusalem,  renovated,  exalted,  glorified. 

And  shall  we  here  be  told  that  this  humanity,  which  was  born 
here,  developed,  expanded,  and,  up  to  this  point,  by  a  sure  and 
glorious  gradation,  risen  to  a  condition  indicated  by  the  Millennial 
reign  of  peace  and  righteousness,  shall  seek  some  far-off"  place  of 
final  rest — shall  we  be  told  that  the  "  meek  "  shall  no  longer  "  in- 


332  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

herit  the  earth  " — that  the  "  righteous  "  shall  not  "  dwell  therein 
forever,^^  but  shall  be  transplanted  to  some  distant,  unknown  world 
for  their  final  glorification  ?  Why  should  we  seek  any  other  rest- 
ing-place for  the  saints  ?  Is  not  the  earth  a  fitting  place  ? — at 
least,  is  it  incurably  unfitted  to  be  man's  final  rest,  and  the  place 
of  his  future  blessedness  and  glory  ?  This  brings  me  to  remark 
again, 

5.  That,  sin  and  its  ravages  excepted,  this  earth  is  a  jit  abode  for 
the  saints  in  glory — good  enough,  pleasant  enough,  and  withal, 
probably  large  enough.  Sin  aside,  and  this  earth  would  at  once 
become  one  perfect  and  perpetual  Eden.  And  what  does  the 
most  refined  taste,  and  cultivated  mind,  and  exalted  piety  crave 
more  ?  In  Eden  man's  holy  nature  found  its  fulness.  And  can 
heaven  grant  more? 

Suppose  for  a  moment  that  sin  were  no  more — that  time,  talent, 
wealth,  influence,  office,  social  position  and  habits,  pleasures  and 
pastimes,  were  all  engaged  on  the  side  of  God  and  religion,  and 
what  would  the  world  at  once  become?  What  physically,  what 
intellectually,  and  what  morally  ? 

The  physical  transformation  which  should  follow  the  annihila- 
tion of  sin  would  alone  do  much  to  make  our  earth  a  heaven. 
Suppose  for  a  moment  that  all  the  wealth,  skill  and  enterprise 
which  are  now  perverted  in  the  service  of  sin,  to  be  devoted  to 
physical  improvements  of  the  earth — to  the  construction  of  roads, 
bridges,  railways,  aqueducts — to  the  erection  of  commodious 
dwellings,  churches,  and  public  edifices  for  all  the  purposes  of  a 
high  state  of  civilization  and  Christianity — to  the  ornamenting 
and  high  cultivation  of  fields,  gardens  and  groves.  If  the  wealth, 
now  worse  than  wasted  in  wars,  in  intemperance,  in  hurtful  amuse- 
ments, in  vicious  habits,  were  devoted  to  such  purposes  as  I  have 
indicated,  and  to  kindred  objects,  which  contribute  to  the  real  aggran- 
dizement and  happiness  of  a  people,  what  a  perfect  Paradise  our 


WHAT   EARTH    MIGHT    BECOME.  333 

earth  in  a  very  little  while  would  become  !  And  if  we  add  to  the 
present  stinted  quota  of  industry  and  skill,  which  are  now  devoted 
to  the  real  aggrandizement  and  well-being  of  the  race  all  the  time, 
industry,  enterprise  and  skill  which  now  go  to  demonize  man,  and 
cover  the  earth  with  deformities  and  barrenness,  the  earth  would 
be  but  ODe  beautiful  and  happy  Eden.*  All  its  deformities  would 
disappear  ;  its  barren  deserts  would  be  made  fruitful  fields.  Its 
worse  than  useless,  its  offensive,  disease-engendering  swamps 
and  morasses  would  become  productive  grounds,  or  ornamental 
and  useful  groves.  Valleys  would  be  exalted,  rough  places  be 
made  smooth ;  rocky  cliffs,  and  deep  ravines,  and  sterile  heaths, 
all  by  the  hand  of  skillful  industry,  be  converted  into  fields  of 
beauty  and  luxuriance.  Rocks  and  barren  sands,  and  many  a  sub- 
stance at  present  useless,  if  not  a  positive  nuisance,  would  become 
the  materials  for  the  construction  of  useful  and  ornamental  works. 

As  an  illustration,  I  may  refer  to  what  I  saw  a  few  days  since. 
In  passing  along  the  streets  of  one  of  the  beautiful  and  romantic 
towns  on  the  Hudson,  I  stopped  before  an  inclosure  of  peculiar 
elegance  and  beauty.  In  the  centre  rose  a  superb  mansion,  around 
which  taste  and  skill  and  labor  had  spread  graceful  slopes  and 
lovely  greens,  and  flowers  and  fruits  and  trees  of  every  foliage : 
and  all  inclosed  by  a  high  and  thick  wall,  which  was  itself  among 
the  objects  not  the  least  to  be  admired. 

On  expressing  admiration  of  the  lovely  spot,  how  much  nature, 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  a  visit  to  the  Central  Park  in  New  York,  has  quite  cherished 
the  idea  here  advanced.  Ahready  enough  has  there  been  done  in  overcoming  the  de- 
formities of  nature  and  converting  them  into  beauties,  to  illustrate  what  money,  labor, 
skill  and  taste  can  do  to  *'  subdue  "  the  earth,  and  make  it  what  I  have  supposed.  But 
the  Park  is  but  begun.  When  it  shall  he  finished,  what  an  illustration  shall  we  then 
have ;  and,  untainted  by  sin,  what  will  it  lack  of  being  a  Paradise  ? 

Is  the  supposition,  then,  extravagant,  that  if  the  time,  and  the  hundreds  of  millions 
of  money,  the  skill  and  taste  now  squandered  in  idleness,  vice,  crime  and  hurtful  amuse- 
ments— in  war.  intemperance,  or  smoked  away  in  tobacco  fumes,  were  annually  expended 
to  beautify  the  earth,  and  make  all  its  waste  places  fruitful  fields,  the  earth  would,  aft«r 
a  few  years,  become  the  Eden  we  have  supposed  ? 


334  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

as  well  as  art,  had  done  for  it,  my  friend  replied  that  nature  had 
lavished  nothing  on  it.  It  was,  he  said,  a  few  years  ago,  but  a 
barren,  uncouth,  rocky  hill — good  for  nothing.  The  beautiful 
stones  that  now  formed  the  walls  of  the  inclosure,  the  terraces 
and  the  walks,  were  once  huge  piles  of  unsightly  rocks  which 
deformed  the  spot.  All  told  what  money,  taste,  skill  and  per- 
severing industry  can  do— how  the  wilderness  is  made  glad  for 
them,  and  the  desert  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

Nothing  but  the  application  of  more  wealth,  skill  and  labor, 
and  on  a  broader  scale,  is  requistite,  to  produce  greater  and  yet 
greater  physical  transformation?,  till  the  whole  earth  shall  be  con- 
verted into  one  great  Eden,  beautiful  and  luxuriant  in  all  that  can 
please  the  eye  or  gratify  the  taste — a  Paradise  in  which  the  voice 
of  God  shall  again  hold  sweet  converse  with  men,  and  heaven 
and  earth  shall  meet. 

Were  mind,  skill,  mental  power  generally  devoted  to  the  real 
advancement  and  happiness  of  man,  what  a  change  would  it  at 
once  work  in  all  human  affairs !  How  sad  the  perversion  of  the 
intellectual  powers  of  man  !  What  adroitness,  skill  and  shrewd- 
ness have  in  all  ages  been  employed  in  the  perpetuation  of  mis- 
chief! Now  suppose  only  that  the  mighty  intellect  of  the  world, 
in  its  most  highly  improved  condition,  were  made  wholly  subser- 
vient to  the  best  interests  of  man,  and  to  the  honor  of  God,  and 
what  in  point  of  comeliness  would  earth  lack  to  be  a  heaven  ? 

The  great  mind  of  the  world  once  consecrated  to  the  welfare 
of  man,  and  the  great  heart  of  the  world  sanctified,  there  would 
everywhere  be  good-will  to  man  and  glory  to  God  in  the  highest. 
Sin  would  no  longer  alienate  man  from  man — would  not  desolate 
by  wars,  or  curse  by  intemperance,  or  any  hurtful  vice — ^would 
no  longer  monopolize  wealth,  industry  and  mind.  Suppose  all 
the  ravages  of  sin  removed,  and  what  more  would  we  ask  or  wish 
for  as  heaven  ? 


HEAVEN    IS    WHERE    GOD    IS.  335 

But,  essentially,  it  matters  little  to  us  where  heaven  is.  The 
important  points  are,  what  is  heaven  ?  and  have  we  a  passport 
thither  ?  and  more  than  all,  have  we  a  fitness  for  that  high  and 
holy  place  ?  Where  God  is,  is  heaven.  Where  holiness  pervades 
all  hearts,  and  controls  the  whole  inner  man,  there  is  heaven. 
Where  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is,  our  blessed  Lnmanuel,  our  inter- 
cessor and  High  Priest,  our  Prophet  and  King,  there  is  heaven. 
Be  it  earth,  our  birthplace  and  home ;  or  be  it  any  other  prov- 
ince of  God's  great  Empire,  it  matters  little.  All  worlds  are  but 
the  many  mansions  in  our  Father's  house.  And  where  is  our 
Father's  house,  and  our  Father's  heart,  there  will  we  be  at  home, 
and  be  happy. 

It  may  be  pleasant,  though  not  essential  to  hope  and  happiness, 
to  contemplate  this  earth  as  our  future  home,  and  the  scene  of 
future  blessedness.  But  let  it  be  the  great  endeavor  of  life,  our 
unceasing  prayer  to  God — ^the  most  earnest  heart's  desire,  that 
we  may  have  part  and  lot  in  Christ,  so  that  where  he  shall  be, 
there  we  may  be  also. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Objection :  that  this  earth  is  not  large  enough  for  the  future  residence  of  all 
earth's  redeemed — Spiritual  bodies ;  their  locomotive  powers — The  em- 
ployments of  Heaven— Sin  the  great  evil. 

Having,  as  we  believe,  made  out  the  strong  probability  that  this 
earth,  renovated  and  purified,  shall  decome  the  final  resting-place 
of  the  saints,  where  they  shall  rejoice  in  their  God  forever,  it  only 
remains  to  meet  the  only  plausible  objection  to  such  a  supposition : 
which  is. 

That  this  earth  is  not  large  enough  for  the  future  abode  of  all 
earth's  redeemed. 

The  objection  may  not  be  so  formidable  as  it  at  first  appears. 
If  it  be  directed  against  the  dimensions  of  the  earth,  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  too  insignificant  a  globe  to  be  allowed  the  honor  of  being 
the  future  abode  of  the  saints,  our  answer  is,  that  it  was  not  es- 
teemed too  insignificant  to  be  the  theatre  of  the  most  august  trans- 
action that,  probably,  ever  transpired  in  the  whole  universe :  the 
Advent  and  Licarnation,  the  sufferings  and  death  of  the  only  be- 
gotten Son  of  God :  not  too  insignificant  for  the  grandest  display 
of  the  eternal  Godhead. 

But  if  the  objection  be  that  the  superficial  area  of  this  globe  is 
too  small  for  the  habitation  and  enjoyment  of  that  great  multitude 

( 336 ) 


EARTH  LARGE  ENOUGH  FOR  HEAVEN.        337 

which  no  man  can  number,  we  shall  present  a  few  considerations 
which  may  obviate  the  objection. 

And,  first,  we  do  not  know  how  large  an  area  will  be  needed. 
The  redeemed  shall  be  a  "  great  multitude ; "  but  does  that  de- 
termine that  they  shall  be  more  than  may  find  habitation  on  this 
globe  ?  Especially  may  we  demur  when  we  bring  into  the  account 
what  shall  then  be  the  character  of  their  residence,  the  character 
of  their  employments  and  wants ;  and  more  especially  the  nature 
and  character  of  the  inhabitants  themselves.  Not  only,  as  we 
have  supposed,  shall  the  entire  surface  of  the  earth  become  hab- 
itable, and  shall,  under  the  full  benediction  of  heaven,  bring  forth, 
almost  spontaneously,  like  Eden,  and  in  the  greatest  abundance, 
but  two  other  circumstances  may  quite  modify  our  calculations 
here. 

The  first  is,  that  the  inhabitants  of  heaven,  wherever  heaven 
may  be,  are  possessed  of  spiritual  bodies.  Such  bodies  will 
doubtless  require  much  less  sustenance  and  space  for  habitation, 
than  our  present  gross  bodies ;  and  consequently  a  much  greater 
population  may  then  occupy  the  earth.  Yet  the  earth  in  its 
present  condition,  that  is,  subjected  as  at  present  to  the  curse,  is 
capable,  if  all  improved  and  subjected  to  the  skill  and  industry  of 
a  careful  cultivation,  as  even  now  it  might  be,  is  probably  capable 
of  sustaining  at  least  ten  times  its  present  population.  What 
then  shall  it  be  capable  of  sustaining  in  its  renovated  condition, 
when  there  shall  be  no  vast  fruitless  deserts,  no  barren  rocks,  or 
inaccessible  mountains,  or  sterile  wastes  ?  and  especially  if,  lit- 
erally, "  there  shall  he  no  seaV  What  countless  millions  the  earth 
might  then  sustain ! 

But  are  we  sure  that  we  need,  in  our  calculations,  to  make  pro- 
visions for  more  than  the  earth  at  present  would  sustain,  if  its 
surface  were  fully  occupied  and  its  resources  fully  developed ; 

or  at  most  more  than,  in  its  renovated  state,  the  earth  would  sus- 
22 


338  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

tain  ?  Suppose,  as  is  the  very  common  belief,  that  the  earth  shall 
exist  nearly  as  it  has  and  does  still  exist,  for  six  thousand  years 
from  its  creation,  and  then  that  it  shall  have  a  Millennium,  or  a 
Sabbatic  period  of  a  thousand  years ;  and  then  shall  follow  the 
perfect,  the  heavenly  and  eternal  state,  when  men  shall  cease  to 
marry  and  be  given  in  marriage,  and  increase  from  natural  gen- 
eration shall  cease ;  and  how  multitudinous  may  we  suppose  the 
heavenly  state  would  be  ?  We  are  told  it  shall  be  a  great  multi- 
tude which  no  man  can  number.  That  is  only  saying  the  number 
shall  be  very  great.  May  we  not  make,  at  least,  a  vague  estimate 
here  ?  No  age  ever  numbered  so  many  evangelical  Christians  as 
the  present.  Yet  probably  there  are  not  above  twelve  millions  of 
the  true  followers  of  the  Lamb  now  living,  and  the  sixty  centuries, 
or  one  hundred  and  eighty  generations  that  are  passed,  have  not 
averaged  one-third  that  number.  Allow  an  average  of  four  mil- 
lions ;  and  the  number  of  all  the  saints  that  have  lived  and  that  now 
live,  would  amount  to  seven  hundred  and  thirty  two  millions,  or 
a  number  not  exceeding  three-fourths  the  present  population  of  the 
globe ;  or  one  fifteenth  of  what  we  have  supposed  the  earth  capa- 
ble of  sustaining  in  its  present  disabled  condition. 

Suppose,  again,  that  the  majority  of  the  race  shall  be  saved 
during  the  thirty  generations  of  the  Millennium,  say  500,000,000 
each  generation  of  thirty-three  years  ;  or  1,500,000,000  each  cen- 
tury. We  should  then  have,  at  the  close  of  the  one  thousand  years, 
an  aggregate  of  only  15,000,000,000  of  Millennial-born  Chris- 
tians, or  only  once  and  a  half  the  number  we  have  supposed  the 
earth  capable  of  supporting  in  its  present  condition.  Surely  then 
— though  we  add  to  this  number  all  the  true  saints  that  have  ever 
lived — it  will  not  be  deemed  extravagant,  that  the  renovated  earth 
should  sustain  twice  or  thrice  that  number;  at  least  a  number 
greater  than  the  most  enlarged  charity  dare  hope  will  people  the 
abodes  of  the  blessed. 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  REDEEMED.  339 

We  must  not  here  overlook  the  fact  that,  not  only  shall  the 
renovated  earth  produce  vastly  more  than  at  present,  but  not  a 
few  substances  not  yet  appropriated  and  still  regarded  as  of  little 
or  no  use,  shall  be  appropriated  for  food,  apparel,  and  a  thousand 
purposes  of  comfort  and  convenience.  We  have  already  wit- 
nessed enough  in  this  direction  to  warrant  the  inference  that  there 
is  probably  not  a  plant,  shrub  or  tree,  not  a  mineral,  metal  or  sub- 
stance of  any  sort,  which  human  skill  and  ingenuity  shall  not 
appropriate  to  the  use  of  man. 

The  other  circumstance  which  may  further  relieve  a  difficulty 
any  one  may  feel  that  this  earth  is  too  small  to  serve  as  the  future 
abode  of  the  righteous,  is  the  fact  that  the  redeemed  will  not  he 
confined  to  a  local  habitation.  They  will  be  like  the  angels,  capable 
of  soaring  from  world  to  world ;  and  at  all  times,  no  doubt,  vast 
multitudes  will  be  abroad  from  their  earthly  home,  on  errands  of 
mercy,  or  excursions  of  duty  in  the  service  of  the  King,  or  for 
the  purpose  of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  God's  works  and  ways, 
and  admiring,  wondering,  worshiping,  and  enjoying  the  wonderful 
displays  of  the  Divine  wisdom,  power  and  goodness.  Such  an 
instance  have  we  in  the  case  of  Moses  and  Elias  on  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration.  And  such  missions  are  probably  not  infre- 
quent to  the  habitations  of  men.  Departed  spirits,  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect,  may  be  the  surest  messages  of  mercy, 
of  peace  and  consolation  to  them  who  dwell  afar  off  in  other  prov- 
inces of  God's  great  Empire.  Multitudes  may  be  abroad  upon 
these  errands  of  love.  As  in  a  great  city,  after  the  citizens  have 
become  numerous,  and  wealthy  and  intelligent  and  enterprising, 
and  more  especially  as  they  become  overtly  benevolent,  and  their 
hearts  enlarged,  and  their  hands  open  in  an  expansive  philan- 
thropy, a  great  multitude  would  be  dispersed  abroad,  either  on 
business,  or  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  or  pleasure,  or  in  the 
discharge  of  duties  of  love  and  charity.     And  many  would  reside 


340  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THK    WORLD. 

abroad.  In  like  manner  it  shall  be,  when  this  whole  world  shall 
become  the  city  of  our  God,  the  New  Jerusalem  come  down 
from  heaven — heaven  come  down  to  earth :  or  rather  earth  made 
a  heaven  Going  out  from  this  point  as  their  birthplace  and 
homestead,  the  whole  universe  shall  be  the  broad  field  of  research 
and  investigation,  of  adoration  and  praise,  of  thanksgiving  and 
perpetual  joy. 

Though  in  accordance  with  our  calculations  in  respect  to  the 
populousness  of  the  heavenly  abode,  we  feel  no  need  of  such  a 
surmise,  yet,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  we  can  see  the  strong  prob- 
ability that  the  redeemed  will  be  endowed  with  locomotive  powers 
that  shall  measurably  annihilate  distances,  so  that  a  visit  to  other 
and  far  distant  worlds,  shall  be  but  a  pleasure  and  pastime.  The 
universe  will  now  become  the  boundless  area  for  the  study  of 
God's  works,  and  for  wonder  and  worship  amidst  his  glories.  The 
earth  once  renovated,  loyal  to  its  King,  and  glorified,  will  no 
longer  be  an  alien  and  outcast  in  the  great  family  of  worlds,  but 
shall  be  restored  to  its  moral  orbit,  and  be  brought  near  again  to 
the  great  moral  centre  of  the  universe,  to  God  the  Father  and 
Fountain  of  all.  And,  reinstated  in  the  great  fraternity,  its  bliss- 
ful inhabitants  shall  mingle  in  sweet  and  living  concord,  passing 
and  repassing  from  world  to  world,  as  the  inmates  of  loving  house- 
holds, happy  to  meet  and  mingle  in  all  the  harmonies  of  love 
and  friendship. 

While,  therefore,  we  may  look  for  the  home  and  the  locality 
of  the  redeemed  on  this  earth,  their  native  home  and  locality, 
we  may,  at  any  given  time,  calculate  that  multitudes  of  the  re- 
deemed themselves  will  be  wandering,  loving,  learning  and  ador- 
ing in  as  many  different  worlds  as  there  are  stars  that  shine  in 
the  firmament. 

But  our  extended  answer  to  the  above  objection  may,  with 
many,  give  rise  to  another  objection  not  the  less  offensive,  if  less 


SPIRITUAL    BODIES    REQUIRE   FOOD.  341 

formidable.  It  is  that  spiritual  bodies  should  receive,  if  not  re- 
quire, food.  It  will  be  perceived  that  I  have  reasoned  on  the 
supposition  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  spirit  world  (as  some 
are  partial  to  designate  heaven)  will  not  be  altogether  reheved 
from  the  pleasure,  if  from  the  necessity,  of  food.  I  do  not  know 
that  we  need  to  be  careful  to  avoid  such  an  inference.  If  such  shall 
be  the  condition  of  the  earth,  under  the  full  benediction  of  heaven, 
as  to  make  a  due  supply  of  food  no  more  than  a  pleasure  or  pas- 
time— at  least,  that  its  preparation  shall  be  relieved  of  all  drudg- 
ery and  grossness  and  be  but  a  pleasant  labor — the  pleasure-en- 
gendering exercise  of  the  bodily  powers  and  of  the  mind,  we  cannot 
perceive  the  objection  felt  by  many  on  this  score.  Angels  eat ; 
as  we  have  evidence  in  their  visits  to  Abraham  and  Lot.  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  took  food  and  ate,  when  he  appeared  to  his 
disciples  in  his  risen  and  spiritual  body.  And  I  can  see  no  ground 
8nd  feel  no  necessity  for  the  supposition  that  the  blessed,  in  this 
respect,  shall  not,  at  least  in  a  measure,  be  subjected  to  the  same 
condition  of  life  as  at  present.  We  assert  nothing,  and  only  feel 
it  incumbent  on  us  to  show  that,  if  the  supposition  be  allowed, 
how  even  this  condition  may  be  met,  on  the  theory  that  this  earth 
shall  be  the  residence  of  the  finally  blessed. 

Again,  I  may  remark  that,  as  another  argument  to  sustain  our 
supposition,  we  see  nothing  like  exhaustion,  in  the  resources  and 
capabilities  of  the  earth,  that  would  seem  to  imply  its  destiny  is 
nearly  accomplished.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  we  see  it  in  all 
respects  fitted  and  furnished  for  purposes  which  seem  no  more 
than  to  have  begun  to  be  answered  in  its  present  destiny,  or  any 
destiny  likely  to  be  accomplished  in  the  present  probationary 
state  of  man.  Vast  deserts,  unreclaimed — wild.-^,  rocks,  moun- 
tains, but  useless  deformities — exhaustless  mineral  resources  kept 
in  reserve  for  untold  ages :  these  are  some  of  the  things  that  con- 
strain us  to  look  to  some  vast  future  to  explain  the  present. 


342  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF   THE    WORLD. 

Or  I  might  derive  another  argument  from  the  progressive  his- 
tory of  our  earth  as  analogous  to  the  progressive  character,  con- 
dition and  destiny  of  man.  We  believe  in  the  indefinite  and,  in 
human  parlance,  the  infinite  progression  of  man.  From  his  be- 
ginning man  is  eternal ;  and  all  the  evidence  on  the  subject  goes 
to  show  that  there  is  no  limit  to  his  progress — at  least,  no  limit 
intellectually  and  morally,  however  it  may  be  physically.  The 
only  obstacle  to  an  indefinite  progress  and  improvement,  is  sin 
and  the  multiplied  mischiefs  of  sin.  This  once  removed,  and 
we  see  no  other  hindrance  to  man's  eternal  development  in 
every  thing   godlike. 

But  the  earth  was  made  for  man.  It  is  his  by  divine  right. 
And  we  have  seen  how  it  has  gone  on  from  step  to  step  in  progress 
and  improvement,  indicating  no  hindrance  but  sin  and  what  belongs 
to  sin,  to  a  return  to  its  perfect,  or  Eden  state.  If  then  this  earth 
were  made  a  fit  abode  for  man  and  given  him  for  his  abode,  who 
shall  tell  us  that,  after  a  little,  man  shall  outlive  his  home,  out- 
grow the  paternal  mansion — that  the  earth,  made  for  man,  given 
to  man,  and  exactly  fitted  to  his  best  interests  and  highest  happi- 
ness, is  unfitted  to  his  future  condition  ? 

This  material  ball  we  call  earth,  has  not  suffered  the  ruins  of 
sin  so  disastrously  as  man  has.  She  suffers  but  physically.  Sadly 
as  man  has  suffered  physically,  he  has  suffered  indefinitely  more 
intellectually  and  morally.  We  may  then  have  less  concern  that 
the  restored  earth  shall  be  a  fit  place  for  the  future  man,  than  that 
the  restored  man  shall  be  fitted  to  inhabit  the  renovated  earth. 
In  either  case  we  need  have  no  concern.  Sin  once  removed  and 
man  becomes  a  fit  inhabitant  of  Paradise,  and  earth  becomes  a 
Paradise. 

But  I  will  not  pursue  the  subject.  It  is  a  matter  of  pleasant, 
though  not  of  vital  interest,  as  I  have  said,  to  know  where  heaven 
is.     The  question  of  paramount  and  vital  interest  relates  to  our 


EARTH  TO  BE  OUR  HEAVEN.  343 

own  fitness  for  heaven.  Sin,  we  see,  has  done  the  mischief, 
whether  in  its  effects  on  the  earth,  or  on  our  own  souls.  The 
only  essential  question  then  is,  how  shall  we  escape  the  curse,  the 
disgrace  and  the  eternal  ruin  of  sin  ?  Blessed  be  God,  there  is 
a  way  of  escape.  A  voice  from  heaven,  clear,  sweet,  melodious 
as  angels  sing,  proclaims,  **  Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

In  conclusion,  T  remark, 

1.  The  supposition  presented  is  fitted  to  give  a  definiteness  to 
our  views  of  heaven,  seeming  to  connect  it  more  intimately  with 
the  present  life.  Who  has  not  at  times  experienced  a  sense  of 
partially  painful  indefiniteness  at  the  thought  of  dwelling,  as  a 
disembodied  spirit  in  some  far-off  planet,  among  scenes  unknown 
before,  and  in  a  mode  of  life  perfectly  untried  ?  Be  it  that  Christ 
shall  be  there — that  holiness  and  happiness  shall  pervade  the  place 
— ^that  angels  shall  be  our  companions,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect  shall  welcome  us  to  joys  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory :  yet  are  we  not  creatures  of  habit  and  association  ?  and 
are  not  these  constituent  parts  of  our  nature  which  shall  go  with 
us  into  our  future  existence  ?  If  so,  we  seem  to  see  how  the  nat- 
ural dread  of  dying,  the  idea  of  a  final  separation  from  all  the 
loved  scenes  of  earth,  meets  a  solace  in  the  dark  hour  of  death. 
The  disembodied  spirit  shall  return ;  be  gathered  again  to  the 
bosom  of  its  loved  body,  now  made  incorruptible  and  immortal ; 
and  there  again  and  forever  regale  itself  amidst  the  hills  and 
vales,  along  the  rills  and  rivers,  among  the  fields  and  gi'oves  of 
its  once  loved  and  its  now  doubly  loved  earth. 

Many  indeed  are  the  pleasant  associations  connected  with  the 
idea  that  this  earth  shall  be  our  future,  eternal  home.  It  is  the 
scene  of  our  joys,  and  no  less  of  our  sufferings.  All  our  loved 
relationships  are  here,  and  all  the  ties  of  sympathy  and  love. 
Here  we  have  sinned,  here  met  a  Saviour  and  found  a  pardon. 


344  THE    COMING    CRISIS    OF    THE    WOULD. 

Here  is  our  home.  And  is  not  the  thought  delightful  that  the 
emancipated  soul,  purified,  exalted,  glorified,  shall  return  to  its  for- 
mer home  and  find  it  renovated,  beautified  and  all  glorious  for  his 
reception — his  home  from  which  he  shall  go  no  more  out  forever ! 

2.  Our  subject  gives  us  some  idea  what  shall  be  the  employ- 
ments and  pursuits  of  heaven.  We  might  say,  in  a  word,  they 
shall  be  what  they  were  in  Eden.  Our  innocent  progenitors 
were  not  idle  admirers  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God.  They 
did  more  than  sing  and  praise  and  adore.  They  cared  for  the 
garden,  and  were  lords  of  all  the  creatures  God  had  made.  And, 
aside  from  the  toils,  the  drudgeries,  the  burdens  and  perplexities 
induced  by  sin,  their  employments  did  not  differ  essentially  from 
ours.  The  pursuits  of  knowledge  in  the  study  of  God's  works,  the 
admiration  and  enjoyment  of  God  in  all  his  ways  as  well  as  his 
works ;  toil  as  a  pastime ;  and  the  various  services  of  praise  and 
worship,  filled  up  the  happy  days  and  years  (perchance)  of  the 
blessed  pair.     So  shall  it  be  in  heaven. 

3.  The  view  we  have  taken  attaches  a  new  and  a  higher  inter- 
est to  this  earth.  This  at  present  marred,  soiled,  polluted  world 
of  ours  was,  as  it  came  from  the  hand  of  its  Creator,  a  perfect 
model  of  perfection.  As  God  surveyed  the  work  of  his  hands, 
the  earth  and  all  pertaining  thereunto,  he  pronounced  all  to  be 
"  good."  It  was  beautiful  in  the  eyes  of  infinite  Perfection.  And 
so  it  shall  be  in  the  "  restitution  of  all  things."  All  shall  be  re- 
stored to  their  pristine  beauty  and  perfection.  Now  we  see  so 
much  of  its  waste  and  deformity  that  we  deem  the  earth  only  fit 
for  burning.  What  a  delightful  interest,  then,  attaches  to  its  glo- 
rious regeneration,  and  restoration  to  the  high  and  holy  purposes 
for  which  God  originally  made  it ! 

4.  Nor  does  the  view  taken  necessarily  detract  aught  from  the 
sacredness  of  heaven,  nor  lessen  the  motives  to  reach  after  it.  It 
is  the  character  of  heaven  with  which  we  are  the  most  deeply 


EVIL    OP    SIN PRECIOUSNESS    OF    CHRIST.  345 

concerned,  and  the  richness  of  the  reward  there  to  be  realized. 
Without  these  the  place  is  nothing.  Where  God  and  holiness  and 
unfailing  felicity  are,  there  is  heaven.  We  detract  nothing  from  its 
sanctity,  then,  when  we  locate  it  on  the  earth.  Nor  do  we  lessen 
the  motives  to  reach  after  heaven  and  seek  it  as  a  supreme  and 
lasting  good.  I  have  shown  that,  for  earth-born  souls,  no  other 
world  can  possibly  present  so  many  attractions,  or  can  have  so 
many  pleasing  associations  to  render  it  a  desirable  habitation  for 
the  blessed,  as  this  earth.  Such  a  heaven  will  be  doubly  dear, 
as  it  will  be  but  going  home. 

5.  Finally,  we  are  again  most  vividly  reminded  of  the  exceed- 
ing evil  of  sin,  and  of  the  extreme  preciousness  of  the  gracious 
interposition  of  Christ.  It  is  sin  that  has  marred  the  beauty  of 
our  world,  that  has  covered  it  with  deformities,  deserts  and  deso- 
lations, that  has  laid  it  waste  by  war,  pestilence  and  disease,  that 
has  cursed  it  with  violence,  superstition  and  crime.  It  is  sin  that 
has  made  man  vile,  hateful  and  corrupt.  All  natural  evil,  as 
well  as  all  the  moral  evil  which  afflicts  our  world,  is  alike  the 
progeny  of  sin.  It  is  sin  that  converted  a  once  happy  Paradise 
into  pandemonium ;  and  changed  those  once  noble,  happy  beings 
who  inhabited  Eden  into  a  race  "  whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing 
and  bitterness,"  and  "  there  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes." 
And  no  less  vividly  are  we  reminded  of  the  exceeding  precious- 
ness of  Christ.  He  comes  to  restore  the  ruins  of  the  fall — to 
reinstate  man  in  the  image  of  his  God — to  take  away  the  curse 
under  which  the  "  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain 
together  until  now  " — to  make  earth  again  an  Eden,  where  the 
will  of  God  shall  be  done  as  it  is  in  heaven — when  God  shall 
once  more  survey  the  workmanship  of  his  hands  in  the  lower 
world,  and  pronounce  all  to  be  "  good." 


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